Transparency International Nigeria (TI Nigeria) has accused President Bola Tinubu and his predecessors, Muhammadu Buhari and Olusegun Obasanjo, of enabling years of unaccounted remittances and financial fraud in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
News360 Info reports that this statement was made by TI Nigeria’s country director, Auwal Rafsanjani, in an interview with Daily Post on Monday, following the recent World Bank Nigeria Development Update (NDU) report.
The World Bank report, which was released last week, indicted NNPCL for failing to remit a total of ₦500 billion in crude revenue to the Federation Account for the months of October and December 2024.
The details revealed in the World Bank’s NDU report showed that, out of the ₦1.1 trillion revenue generated from crude sales and other income in 2024, NNPCL only remitted ₦600 billion, leaving a massive deficit of ₦500 billion.
The revelation of this unaccounted ₦500 billion has sparked fresh debates about transparency and corruption within the country’s largest state-owned oil company, with stakeholders raising concerns about the ongoing financial opacity.
In line with the World Bank’s findings, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also called for greater transparency in the transfer of fuel subsidy savings by NNPCL.
Additionally, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has intensified calls for a thorough investigation into the missing ₦500 billion fund.
Rafsanjani, in his response, pointed to the failure of both Nigerian presidents and the National Assembly to address the financial mismanagement at NNPCL.
He emphasised that the investigation should extend beyond the former Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, to ensure a comprehensive audit of the oil company’s finances since 1999.
“Having a comprehensive audit of NNPCL is essential to ascertain the scale of financial transactions under the leadership of Mele Kyari and others before him. It’s not only about Kyari but about understanding the full extent of the financial mismanagement that has been happening since 1999,” Rafsanjani said.
He also criticised the practice of Nigerian presidents appointing themselves as ministers of petroleum, a decision he believes has contributed to the lack of accountability at the state-owned company.
“The president is the one who has been the substantive petroleum minister, whether it was Buhari, Tinubu, or Obasanjo. This is why I have always advocated for an independent, substantive minister of petroleum. The National Assembly has failed to carry out its oversight functions adequately. It’s a shame,” Rafsanjani added.
Rafsanjani also pointed out that the issue was not with the fuel subsidy itself but with the corruption that permeates the process. He called for the recovery of the missing funds and their proper utilization for the benefit of all Nigerians.
“The subsidy is not the problem, but the corruption in the process is. The missing money must be recovered and used for the good of all Nigerians,” he said.
A Call For Transparency In NNPCL Operations
In agreement with Rafsanjani, an energy expert and managing partner of BBH Consulting, Ameh Madaki, reiterated that a comprehensive audit of NNPCL is long overdue.
Madaki emphasised that the company had operated in a state of opaqueness for too long without adequate scrutiny.
He said, “The probe required in NNPCL under Mele Kyari goes far beyond the ₦500 billion referred to in the World Bank report under reference.
“The opaque nature of the operations of the NNPCL over the years and the selective amnesia of the Nigerian public ensure that massive fraud is covered up by the organisation.
“For instance, what happened to the $3.3 billion borrowed by NNPCL to shore up the value of the naira on crude oil futures sales contracts?
“What was done with the money when the currency went into a disgraceful free fall? And this is not the first time NNPCL is not remitting funds to the federation account!
“Throughout the second term of President Buhari, NNPCL did not remit a dime to the Federation account because they said they had become a limited liability company like NLNG and would only remit profits after expenses and tax to the Federation account after the audit.
“This kept the states and local governments in dire straits financially under that government, and nothing happened.
“So why would anyone cry wolf over one month’s remittance to the Federation account? NNPCL has declared losses for several years under one frivolous guise or the other, but nobody has asked for a probe.
“Bayo Ojulari, the new GCEO of NNPCL, as a square peg in a square hole, must do the needful and purge the organisation of its opaqueness so that Nigerians can, for the first time, reap the benefits of having a National Oil and Gas Company.”
