A new federal audit has uncovered more than N61bn in financial irregularities linked to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), raising fresh concerns about transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s state-owned oil corporation.
The revelations are contained in the 2022 Annual Report on Non-Compliance with Financial Regulations submitted by the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (AuGF) to the National Assembly. The report reviewed NNPCL’s 2021 operations and identified 28 significant breaches, ranging from undocumented foreign payments and procurement violations to abandoned contracts and unremitted funds.
According to the document, the flagged amounts include N30.1bn, $51.67m, £14.32m, and €5.17m—totalling roughly N61.1bn when converted at official rates. The report warned that the discrepancies reflect “poor internal controls” that expose public resources to misuse.
A key highlight of the audit is the discovery that the NNPCL’s London Office spent £14.32m in 2021 without presenting any supporting documents. The expenditures were purportedly related to personnel obligations, contracts and routine operations, but auditors said neither vouchers nor approvals were submitted for verification.
NNPCL management maintained that the London Office operates within an approved budget and keeps proper records. However, the Auditor-General rejected this defence, insisting that public funds must be fully documented. The audit recommended that the company’s Group Chief Executive Officer be summoned by the Public Accounts Committees, and that the entire £14.32m be refunded if documentation is not produced.
The audit also flagged several foreign currency transactions that could not be substantiated. These include €5.17m paid to a contractor without evidence of contract award or service delivery, as well as multiple dollar-denominated payments labelled as Direct Sales Direct Purchase (DSDP) settlements amounting to $22.84m, for which no supporting records were provided.
Additional infractions involve $12.44m tied to a stalled generator project, $1.80m paid under an irregular extension of a bunkering vessel contract, and various provisional payments issued without invoices. In total, the audit identified $51.67m as questionable.
On the domestic front, auditors cited N30.1bn in naira-linked violations. Among them are the non-remittance of N12.72bn into NNPCL’s General Reserve Fund, N3.45bn approved by the Chief Financial Officer without the Group Managing Director’s authorisation, N2.38bn paid as vehicle status allowances that breached policy, and over N1.21bn released to contractors without interim certificates or invoices.
The report further highlighted procurement abuses, including the substitution of a contracted vessel that inflated costs by $1.93m over 30 months. Cases of poor tax compliance were also noted, with transactions where required VAT, withholding tax and stamp duties were not deducted.
Most of the breaches occurred under the leadership of former Group CEO Mele Kyari, who was removed earlier this year and replaced by Bayo Ojulari. Transparency advocates say the audit confirms long-standing concerns about opacity in the national oil company, warning that without strong political will, the financial leakages will persist.
Leave a Reply