Nigeria’s Senate Committee on Public Accounts has intensified its oversight of the nation’s oil sector by summoning three former top executives of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to address audit queries revealing N210 trillion in unaccounted funds between 2017 and 2023.
The committee, led by Senator Aliyu Wadada from Nasarawa West, issued the summons during a session on Thursday after examining financial records of the national oil company. Wadada announced that the panel would pursue warrants of arrest for the former officials if they do not appear on a date to be specified.
The summoned individuals include Mele Kyari, the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL; Umar Ajia Isa, former Chief Financial Officer; and Dr. Bala Wunti, former Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services. Wadada stated they must appear alongside the current NNPCL management, headed by Group Chief Executive Officer Engr. Bayo Ojulari, and the external auditors who reviewed the company’s accounts during the period.
In resolutions read to journalists, Wadada directed NNPCL to account for the N210 trillion, comprising N103 trillion and N107 trillion highlighted in audit reports. “NNPCL should refund the sum of N210 trillion, being the combined sum of N103 trillion and N107 trillion, which were not properly accounted for as contained in the audit reports. NNPCL should and must account for the two figures,” he said.
The committee further instructed the company to remit all production costs charged against crude oil revenue for the reviewed period to the Treasury, emphasizing that NNPCL and its subsidiaries, including NAPIMS, do not engage in direct crude oil production.
Wadada explained that these decisions followed NNPCL’s inadequate responses to 19 audit queries. He noted the company attributed the N103 trillion to cumulative expenditures by joint venture partners from JV cash calls between 2017 and 2023, a justification the committee rejected as unacceptable.
Additionally, NNPCL reported the N107 trillion as subsidy receivables and sundry debts in its audited financial statements as of December 2023, claiming these were owed by various banks and entities. “When put together, NNPCL needs to properly account for the N210 trillion,” Wadada said.
The panel also scrutinized N5 billion expended on facilitating the company’s name change from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. “This, to us in the committee, is unacceptable and satisfactory explanations must be given,” Wadada remarked.
Furthermore, Wadada directed the Auditor-General for the Federation to undertake a forensic audit of NNPCL’s financial statements for the period, in accordance with Section 85 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
Despite the flagged issues, the committee expressed continued support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, stating that the government remains dedicated to fostering transparency, accountability, and probity in public fund management.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, established in 1977 through the merger of the Nigerian National Oil Corporation and the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel, has long been central to Nigeria’s economy as the custodian of the nation’s hydrocarbon resources. Proven oil reserves stand at about 37 billion barrels as of 2023, positioning Nigeria as Africa’s top producer, though output has fluctuated due to militancy, theft, and infrastructure challenges. Gas reserves exceed 200 trillion cubic feet, yet domestic utilization remains low amid flaring practices that have drawn international criticism.
Financial opacity and corruption allegations have plagued the entity since its inception. During the Second Republic (1979-1983), an estimated $16 billion—20 percent of oil revenues—was lost to fraud, overbilling, and crude theft involving NNPC agents, according to then-Minister of Petroleum Tam David-West. Under General Ibrahim Babangida’s regime (1985-1993), a 1994 unpublished report by economist Pius Okigbo revealed $12.4 billion vanished from public accounts between 1988 and 1994.
Post-1999 civilian rule saw persistent issues. A 2006 audit under the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative identified discrepancies in oil revenue payments to the Central Bank for 1999-2004. Between 2007 and 2009, NNPC over-deducted N28.5 billion in subsidy claims, part of broader fraudulent tactics that deprived governments of N85.2 billion over three years. From 2009 to 2012, 60 million barrels valued at $13.7 billion were stolen under NNPC’s watch.
The 2010s brought high-profile revelations. In 2013, Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi alleged NNPC failed to remit $20 billion in oil revenues, initially dismissed but later confirmed closer to that figure by audits from PwC and Deloitte. A 2015 audit found $16 billion unremitted between 2011 and 2014. Under Group Managing Director Maikanti Baru in 2017, $25 billion in contracts were awarded without due process.
The Petroleum Industry Act of 2021 transformed NNPC into NNPCL, a limited liability company, aiming for commercial efficiency and transparency. Yet, challenges persisted under Mele Kyari’s leadership from 2019. A 2020-2021 audit flagged $51 million in questionable contractor payments, tax non-deductions, and weak controls. In 2022, over N60 billion in irregularities were uncovered. Refinery rehabilitation scandals emerged, with $2.9 billion allocated for Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna facilities amid allegations of misappropriation, leading to EFCC probes and arrests, including a $7.2 billion fraud case.
The 2025 Senate probe into the N210 trillion discrepancy—N103 trillion in accrued expenses and N107 trillion in receivables—echoes these patterns, with NNPCL’s explanations deemed insufficient. Critics, including Peter Obi, have labeled it evidence of Nigeria as a “crime scene,” with the sum exceeding national budgets from 2017-2023. A November 2025 audit indicted NNPCL over N684 million in irregular contracts and abandoned projects. EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede described early findings in a 2025 probe as “mind-boggling.”
