Petrol imports: Senate rejects NMDPRA figures, summons NNPCL, NEITI

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has rejected the figures presented by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) regarding petrol imports for 2022 and 2023. The committee summoned the heads of NMDPRA, NNPCL, and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) for a joint meeting to investigate the discrepancies.

NMDPRA reported 3.29 billion litres in 2022 and 6.02 billion litres in 2023, while NNPCL's records showed 6.27 billion litres in 2022 and 3.88 billion litres in 2023. The committee expressed concern over the substantial differences, with some members deeming them too large to be considered "slight." Senator Abdul Ningi of Bauchi Central emphasized the need for urgent clarification, stating that the disparities exceeded 50% in some comparisons.

Senator Dayo Faduyile of Ondo South raised suspicions about the accuracy of the figures, while Senator Anietan Bassey of Akwa Ibom North-East called for a comprehensive investigation to prevent Nigerians from being shortchanged through inaccuracies in official records. Following the objections, the committee decided to summon the agency heads for a joint session to reconcile the conflicting figures and determine the reasons behind the discrepancies.