The Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), describing the state-owned oil giant as a “house of thieves” during a Senate Public Accounts Committee session.

His outburst followed claims by former NNPCL Chief Financial Officer, Umar Aliya, who alleged that some officials within the company were lobbying for the employment of their children in the organisation amid ongoing investigations into alleged financial irregularities running into trillions of naira.

Reacting angrily to the submission, Oshiomhole dismissed the remarks and accused the company of lacking credibility.

“I heard you saying that people want their children to be employed in NNPC, that is because it is a house of thieves and they want their children to benefit from it,” he said.

“NNPC has no reputation, your reputation is for fraud. How can you sit down here and say people want their children employed in NNPC? So you think we are joking here?”

The Senate Public Accounts Committee is currently probing alleged misappropriation of public funds involving the national oil company between 2017 and 2023, with questions raised over unaccounted sums running into trillions of naira.

Oshiomhole’s remarks have since triggered widespread reactions on social media, with some users commending his bluntness while others criticised the language used by a serving senator during an official investigation.