The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has rejected petrol import records from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority after uncovering substantial discrepancies with figures held by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. The committee has resolved to summon the heads of NMDPRA, NNPCL and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative to reconcile the conflicting data. The decision followed NMDPRA officials appearing before the committee on Wednesday to respond to queries raised in NEITI's 2021-2023 Oil and Gas Industry Audit Report about Premium Motor Spirit imported into the country.
The conflicting figures are significant. NMDPRA recorded 3.29 billion litres of petrol imports in 2022 and 6.02 billion litres in 2023. NNPCL's records, however, showed 6.27 billion litres and 3.88 billion litres for the same years respectively. Speaking on behalf of NMDPRA's Chief Executive Rabiu Umar, Deputy Director Uzoamaka Ugwu-Ojobe told the committee that the authority stood by its figures, describing the differences as slight discrepancies being looked into for possible reconciliation.
Committee members strongly objected to this characterisation. Senator Abdul Ningi from Bauchi Central said the discrepancies, which exceeded 50 per cent in some comparisons, were disturbing and required urgent clarification. He stated that the disparities were too wide to be described as slight or addressed without appropriate seriousness. Senator Dayo Faduyile from Ondo South expressed concern that the conflicting records raised questions about the accuracy of figures submitted by the agencies. Senator Anietan Bassey from Akwa Ibom North-East called for comprehensive investigation, warning that Nigerians must not be shortchanged through discrepancies in official petroleum import records.
Following the objections, Senate Committee chair Hassan Dankwabo from Gombe North rejected NMDPRA's defence and announced that the committee would summon heads of all three agencies for a joint session. Dankwabo said the meeting would seek explanations for the conflicting figures and establish reasons for the discrepancies recorded in the NEITI audit. The committee plans to use the meeting to reconcile the agencies' records and determine whether the discrepancies resulted from differences in reporting or other irregularities requiring further investigation.