The Senate Committee on Public Accounts on Wednesday rejected records of petrol imports presented by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The committee said NMDPRA’s figures for 2022 and 2023 do not tally with figures from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
It described the discrepancies as unacceptable and suspicious.
The committee has summoned the chief executives of NMDPRA, NNPCL and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) to appear and explain the gaps.
The summons followed NMDPRA’s appearance on Wednesday over queries in the NEITI Oil and Gas Industry Audit Report for 2021-2023.
Representing the authority’s Chief Executive, Mallam Rabiu Abdullahi Umar, Deputy Director Uzoamaka Ugwu-Ojobe defended NMDPRA’s figures, insisting that its records were credible despite significant differences with those of NNPCL.
She told the committee that NMDPRA recorded 3.29 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) imported in 2022 and 6.02 billion litres in 2023.
The figures differed from NNPCL’s records of 6.27 billion litres for 2022 and 3.88 billion litres for 2023.
Ugwu-Ojobe described the discrepancies as slight and said the authority was examining them for possible reconciliation.
But the explanation triggered response from lawmakers, who questioned how discrepancies involving billions of litres of petrol could be dismissed as minor differences.
Senator Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi Central, said the variations were too substantial to be treated casually, describing them as disturbing and suspicious.
He argued that the differences between the agencies’ records exceeded 50 per cent in some instances, making NMDPRA’s explanation inadequate.
“The disparities in records of PMS importation between NMDPRA and NNPCL in 2022 and 2023, as stated in the NEITI Oil and Gas Industry Audit Report of 2021 to 2023, are too wide to be described as slight or being looked into without the seriousness required,” Ningi said.
Senator Dayo Faduyile, representing Ondo South, also expressed concern, warning that the conflicting figures raised serious questions about the integrity of the records.
He said the discrepancies left considerable room for suspicion that something had gone wrong.
Senator Anietan Bassey, representing Akwa Ibom North-East, demanded a thorough investigation, insisting that Nigerians must not continue to suffer losses while public agencies provide contradictory accounts of petroleum imports.
He called on the committee to uncover those responsible for any wrongdoing and ensure that the country was not shortchanged.
“Mr Chairman and very distinguished colleagues, these questionable records of volume of PMS importation by the two agencies must be thoroughly investigated to save Nigerians from being yearly shortchanged and expose those milking the country dry,” Bassey said.
Following the exchanges, the committee, chaired by Senator Hassan Dankwabo, representing Gombe North, rejected NMDPRA’s defence and resolved to convene a tripartite meeting involving the three agencies.
Dankwabo said the committee could not accept the authority’s explanation concerning the discrepancies identified in the NEITI audit report, particularly the conflicting figures on PMS import volumes for the years under review.
The planned meeting is expected to provide an opportunity for NMDPRA, NNPCL and NEITI to explain the differences and establish a credible account of the volumes of petrol imported in 2022 and 2023.
