Group Dismisses Claim That N210tn Is Missing From NNPCL Accounts

Forum Dismisses Claim of N210tn Missing Funds In NNPCL
Forum said figure is unrealistic compared to Nigeria’s national budget.
Coalition urged Senate to investigate alleged bribery linked to oversight process.

A coalition of professionals under the Ajiyya Solidarity Forum has dismissed allegations that about ₦210tn is missing from the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

The group described the claim as misleading and politically motivated.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the forum’s position follows a recent statement by the Chairman of the Senate Public Accounts Committee, Ahmed Wadada, who said the national oil company could not account for about ₦210tn during a review of its financial records.

Addressing journalists on Thursday, the National Coordinator of the forum, Usman Hamza, said the figure being circulated was unrealistic when placed against Nigeria’s fiscal realities.

He said, “Senator Wadada’s claim of ₦210tn ‘unaccounted for’ funds is a mathematical impossibility designed to shock the public.”

Hamza noted that Nigeria’s entire national budget for 2024 was about ₦28.7tn, arguing that suggesting a single entity lost nearly eight times that figure was misleading.

“To suggest that a single entity ‘lost’ nearly eight times the national budget is an insult to the intelligence of Nigerians,” he added.

The forum also criticised threats of arrest warrants against former officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, including former Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajiya.

According to the group, the development appeared to be part of a coordinated campaign of political pressure.

Hamza argued that the Senate committee may have misinterpreted financial figures by combining accrued expenses with receivables owed to the company.

He said the committee might have incorrectly combined about ₦103tn in accrued expenses, largely linked to joint venture liabilities, with about ₦107tn in receivables owed to the company.

“We consider that the committee has erroneously ‘netted’ ₦103tn in accrued expenses, largely joint venture liabilities, with ₦107tn in receivables owed to NNPCL. Labelling money owed to a company as ‘missing funds’ is a professional travesty,” he stated.

The forum also pointed to the reforms carried out during Ajiya’s tenure, including the transition of the national oil company into a commercial entity under the Petroleum Industry Act.

“Mr Ajiya’s tenure saw the transition of NNPC into a commercially driven entity and the publication of the first audited financial statements in 43 years,” the group said.

The forum defended the ₦5.9bn cost incurred during the transition of NNPC into NNPCL, saying the funds covered legal and structural processes required to convert the state corporation into a limited liability company.

It warned that politicising the Senate’s oversight role could undermine Nigeria’s credibility with international investors.

“Using the Senate’s hallowed chambers to pursue personal vendettas damages Nigeria’s reputation with international investors,” Hamza said.

The group called on the Senate leadership to institute an independent ethics investigation into what it described as an alleged demand for bribes connected to the ongoing oversight process.

“We call on the Senate leadership and its Ethics Committee to investigate the alleged bribe demand connected to this oversight exercise,” he said.

Hamza urged lawmakers to allow a forensic review of financial records rather than rely on what he described as sensational claims.