The Senate on Tuesday indicted the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) over its inability to provide details of the crude oil supplied to the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) and the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) amounting to about N102 billion.
The red chamber gave the verdict after considering the report of its Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Senator Matthew Urhoghide, at plenary.
The panel, in its report, sustained the queries issued against the NNPCL as contained in the 2016 report of the Auditor General for the Federation (AuGF).
The document accused the NNPCL of poor record keeping on the crude oil it lifted and supplied to the two refineries.
It explained that details of the breakdown of what was delivered to the two firms is worth about $376, 655,589 (N102.6bn).
Deliveries of crude oil from Escravos Terminal for the operation of Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) and Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) are channelled directly into WRPC facility.
Thereafter, WRPC pumps the required quality to the KRPC.
The AuGF query had read: “From the review and examination of domestic Crude Oil Lifting sales profile presented for audit verification, it was noted that several deliveries were stated to be jointly lifted and delivered to Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) and Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company without necessary details or breakdown of what was delivered to respective companies.
“From the examination carried out, a total oil lifting of 8,399,017 billion barrels of petroleum liquids, with a total sales values of $376, 655,589 (N102.6 billion) was stated to have been lifted jointly by these two companies.
“The failure to properly separate these deliveries and charge directly to each company makes it difficult to reconcile and account for each lifting.”
The Senate at plenary, upheld the recommendation of its committee and asked the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, to ensure specific details of crude delivered to the two refineries for audit.
The red chamber also upheld the indictment of 37 MDAs for violation of financial procedure in the country.
It resolved to submit the report of the indictment to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of Federation for further action.
The lawmakers are also scrutinising a bill that will enforce the implementation of the outcome of the Auditor General’s report submitted to the National Assembly for consideration.
Also among the indicted government agencies is the Ministry of Information and Culture over three unrecovered vehicles.
The query as adopted by the Senate read: “Audit investigation revealed that Toyota Land Cruiser and two Toyota Hilux pick up vans, observed to be missing, were in the custody of former Minister of the Ministry and a female staff in Sure-P office.
“In his response to the query, the Permanent Secretary explained that the Toyota Land Cruiser was an official vehicle of the Minister, High Chief Edem Duke and he took it away when he was leaving the office.
“The Ministry, the Permanent Secretary added, has written series of letters to the former Minister to return the vehicles but to no avail,” it said.
Some of the 35 other indicted agencies are: Office of Accountant General of the Federation, National Population Commission, National Agency for the Control of Aids ( NACA), FCT Area Council Service Commission, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Justice, and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), among others.
