The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has rejected petrol import figures presented by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) after identifying significant discrepancies between the agency’s records and those of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

The committee described the conflicting figures for 2022 and 2023 as unacceptable and suspicious, calling for a comprehensive investigation to establish the actual volume of petrol imported into the country during the period.

The decision followed a hearing on issues raised in the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Oil and Gas Industry Audit Report covering 2021 to 2023.

During the session, NMDPRA’s Deputy Director, Uzoamaka Ugwu-Ojobe, who represented the authority’s chief executive, told lawmakers that Nigeria imported 3.29 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, in 2022 and 6.02 billion litres in 2023.

However, figures presented by NNPC showed that the country imported 6.27 billion litres in 2022 and 3.88 billion litres in 2023, raising questions about the reliability of the records maintained by the two agencies.

Defending the NMDPRA’s figures, Ugwu-Ojobe described the differences as slight and said efforts were being made to reconcile the conflicting records.

Her explanation, however, failed to satisfy the lawmakers, who questioned how the agencies responsible for monitoring and managing the petroleum sector could provide substantially different figures for the same period.

Senator Abdul Ningi, who represents Bauchi Central, challenged the description of the discrepancies as minor, arguing that the differences were too significant to be dismissed without a proper explanation.

He described the situation as disturbing and suspicious, insisting that the committee could not accept the agency’s account without further scrutiny.

Similarly, Senator Dayo Faduyile, representing Ondo South, said the conflicting figures raised concerns about possible foul play in the reporting of petrol imports.

Senator Anietie Bassey, who represents Akwa Ibom North East, also called for a thorough investigation, warning that the discrepancies must be resolved to protect the interests of Nigerians.

Following the objections, the committee chairman, Senator Hassan Dankwabo, representing Gombe North, rejected the explanation offered by the NMDPRA representative.

Dankwabo said the agency’s response was insufficient to address the concerns raised by the committee and announced plans to summon the heads of NMDPRA, NNPC and NEITI to a joint meeting.

He said the officials would be required to explain the differences in their records and provide clarification on the actual volumes of petrol imported into Nigeria in 2022 and 2023.

The committee said the proposed meeting would help determine whether the discrepancies resulted from administrative or record-keeping errors or indicated possible wrongdoing.

The lawmakers maintained that the conflicting figures required urgent clarification, stressing the importance of accurate reporting and accountability in Nigeria’s petroleum industry.