Senate Committee on Finance has commenced an Independent Forensic Audit into the expenses incurred by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in its submission that accounted for $48.9 billion oil revenue alleged to be missing and unremitted to the federation account.
The Senate disclosed that the report of the independent audit into the expenditure claims of the NNPC is being awaited to facilitate an eventual report by the committee following a probe undertaken by the latter into the missing funds.
Chairman of the Committee on Finance, Senator Ahmed Markafi, who made the disclosure during yesterday’s investigative hearing, also recalled that the committee had given the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency a two weeks deadline, which elapses next week, to submit to the committee certification on subsidy payments from July to December, 2013.
Senator Markafi emphasised that the certification demanded of PPPRA would assist the committee to establish how much was spent on subsidy payments for kerosene and Petrol over the period of two years.
He said: “We believe all submissions have been made except one. The report we are waiting for from the PPPRA on certification of subsidy July 2013 to December 2013 both for kerosene and PMS. It is to enable the committee establish how much really were the total expenditure on subsidy for the two years running. We have given them up to the end of next week. They requested three weeks but gave them only two weeks and two weeks would expire next week.
“The other report we are expecting is that the committee appointed independent consultants to do forensic examination and audit on the volume of expenses you incurred. We expect their report by the end of next week. And their independent report is what will make us form an opinion on the expenses and losses totalling about 2.1 billion Dollars based on your submission accounting for that money.
Markafi also informed the NNPC during yesterday’s hearing that the Committee had received a formal letter from the Auditor General of the Federation confirming an ongoing forensic check that covers areas of concerns raised by the committee during the last hearing which held last week Thursday.
