Fresh controversy has erupted over Nigeria’s oil revenues as the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) flagged more than $42.37 billion allegedly owed to the Federation Account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), alongside N2.03 trillion in pending taxes and royalties tied to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).
The figures, contained in FAAC’s September 2025 Post-Mortem Sub-Committee (PMSC) report, highlight long-standing gaps in petroleum revenue remittances, which have left state governments increasingly frustrated as they struggle to fund their budgets.
According to the report, the $42.3 billion dispute dates back to under-remittances between 2011 and 2017. FAAC had engaged Periscope Consulting to reconcile the accounts, but the process is still incomplete. NNPC told the Sub-Committee at its last sitting that it was “almost done” with the review and would provide a formal update within two weeks.
In addition, the Sub-Committee demanded explanations from the OAGF over N2.03 trillion in outstanding payables relating to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) taxes and Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) royalties for June–December 2023.
Breakdowns showed that in June 2023 alone, royalties hit N133.65 billion while FIRS taxes stood at N173.08 billion, totalling more than N306 billion. By December, another N142.59 billion was added, bringing the seven-month backlog to N2.03 trillion.
While FAAC confirmed that about N1.6 trillion in arrears was reconciled and paid into the Federation Account between January and July 2025, it noted that unresolved balances remain staggering. As of September, outstanding revenues stood at $79.77 million and N6.74 trillion, with a further N2.53 trillion in legacy arrears still undergoing review.
The Committee also scrutinised NNPC’s retention of 30 per cent of certain revenues for frontier exploration, as provided under the Petroleum Industry Act. Though the company presented details of exploration projects from 1999 to date, stakeholders pressed for clearer financial accounts covering both pre- and post-PIA expenditure.
Revenue disputes with NNPC have long dominated FAAC meetings, particularly during the subsidy era. The latest revelations reinforce concerns that unresolved arrears and opaque deductions continue to undermine Nigeria’s fragile public finances.
Leave a Reply