Former Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) chief executive Mele Kyari denied a ₦210 trillion loss at a Senate hearing Tuesday, Nov. 10, submitting a response to questions over the state-owned oil company’s accounts. The Senate Committee on Public Accounts said it would review his written submission and decide whether it needed further clarification, Channels Television reported. Kyari said “nothing was lost,” Dateline Nigeria reported, citing the News Agency of Nigeria.
The disputed total appears to add two separate entries in NNPC’s 2023 company financial statements. As of Dec. 31, 2023, the accounts listed ₦103.403641 trillion in accrued expenses and ₦107.611604 trillion in sundry receivables, which sum to ₦211.015245 trillion. NNPC classifies accrued expenses as a liability and sundry receivables as an asset; the statements do not show their combined value as a single loss.
The 2023 statements say accrued expenses include retention fees, legal fee accruals and audit fee accruals. Sundry receivables include joint-venture receivables among other items.
In its 2024 audited statements, NNPC said it adjusted the 2023 comparative figures by netting ₦105.974710 trillion in joint-venture payables against sundry receivables. The restated company figures showed ₦1.651902 trillion in sundry receivables and ₦2.636119 trillion in other payables and accruals at the end of 2023.
The restatement shows how NNPC later presented the joint-venture balances, but does not establish whether senators consider the audit questions resolved. The committee’s review of Kyari’s response will determine whether it seeks further clarification, Channels Television reported.
