The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee on Monday ordered NNPC Limited’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, to submit all relevant documents and appear before the committee on Monday, December 15, 2025, in connection with audit queries issued by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation for the January–December 2021 period.
Committee Chairman Bamidele Salam issued the summons during Monday’s session at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.
Salam, who raised concerns over NNPC’s repeated failure to respond to the committee’s invitations or submit the requested documents despite several reminders, warned the company’s CEO that lawmakers’ patience had reached its limit, emphasizing that nothing would deter the committee from overseeing all agencies under its mandate.
At the resumed session, the chairman, representing Ede North/Ede South/Ejigbo/Egbedore Federal Constituency in Osun State, read out a letter sent to the committee by the NNPC chief.
In the letter, Ojulari cited a critical official engagement at the Presidential Villa as the reason for his absence. Committee members, however, rejected the explanation, calling it disrespectful to the legislature and obstructive to the audit review process.
After an appeal from NNPC’s National Assembly Liaison Officer, Umar Faruk, the committee agreed to grant another opportunity, setting December 15, 2025, as the new date for the company to appear and submit all requested documents.
Ruling on the matter, Salam stated, “We have agreed as a committee to give you till next Monday, December 15, for a fresh appearance. Remember, the committee is very busy; we are handling numerous issues. If you have been here in the last couple of weeks, you would understand the volume of matters before us.”
The NNPC is required to address several queries from the Auditor-General, including alleged payments to contractors for abandoned projects, failure to deduct statutory taxes, and irregular disbursements by the Chief Finance Officer without the Group Managing Director’s approval.
Constitutionally empowered to review audit reports submitted by the Auditor-General of the Federation, the House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee has, over the years, expanded its oversight to cover misuse of public funds, unretired advances, inflated contracts, unauthorized payments, and non-remittance of revenue to the Federation Account.
PAC’s interventions have resulted in substantial recoveries for the Federal Government. The committee has, on multiple occasions, exposed fully paid-for but abandoned capital projects, discrepancies in revenue reporting by revenue-generating agencies, and breaches of procurement and financial regulations.
The petroleum sector, especially NNPC, has often been under the committee’s scrutiny due to recurring audit concerns, including unaccounted payments, opaque subsidy claims, joint venture cash calls, and issues with crude oil sales and remittances. Auditor-General reports have consistently pointed to gaps in documentation, contract execution, and tax compliance across agencies in the oil and gas industry.
This latest summons to NNPC is part of PAC’s ongoing effort to enforce accountability and secure full responses to audit findings for the 2021 financial year, which highlighted numerous irregularities across several MDAs.
The committee has consistently emphasized that no agency, regardless of its size or strategic importance, is exempt from scrutiny and that compliance with parliamentary oversight is compulsory under Nigerian law.
