NNPCL, NUIS’ Auditors, Senate C’ttee Tangle Over Legislative Appearance

BY PATRICK WEMAMBU

There is a simmering disagreement between the Senate Public Accounts Committee and the External Auditors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) with the NNPC Upstream Investment Services (NUIS) which came to a head Tuesday in the Red Chamber over the inability of the latter to appear before the former. This is consequent upon the queries raised in audit reports of the affected agencies before 2023.

But the external auditors through a letter from their solicitor, Afe Babalola & Co, informed the committee that issues relating to the audit reports are already litigated against by aggrieved parties and will be sub-judice for them to appear before the committee.

Dissatisfied with the reason given by the external auditors, the Committee in a counter letter dated 15th May, 2025, had ordered the external auditors to appear before it on Tuesday, 20th May, 2025 unfailingly.

The committee in the letter titled: “Re: Special Legislative Inquiry on the External Auditors to NNPCL and NUIS” among others, told the external auditors that the scope of its work goes beyond the case before the court.

“That the Committee still stands on not being a party to any case that is between the External Auditors or the Court and cannot be sub-judice.

“That the external auditors have a duty of full disclosure of the claim in court, by furnishing the Committee of the Court process, so as to determine the involvement of the National Assembly or the Senate to the case on the subject of sub-judice.

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“Arising from the foregoing, the External Auditors to NNPCL and NUIS are advised to honor the appointment of 20 May, 2025 as earlier acknowledged, else the Committee would explore its Power to compel attendance.”

However at the session on Tuesday, none of the external auditors appeared before the committee but were represented by one of their solicitors, Oyetola Muyiwa Atoyebi (SAN) who was not allowed to make any submission.

Atoyebi who later spoke to journalists, said the external auditors could not appear before the committee to avoid sub-judice.

“The committee had earlier been informed that the external auditors would not appear before it because issues to be deliberated upon are already in court and would amount to sub-judice on their part to make any submissions on them.

“It is even sub-judice for the committee itself to be holding session on issues being litigated against in the court of law,” he explained.