The Federal Government has extended its investigation into the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over an alleged $42.37 billion revenue shortfall, pushing the deadline to December 2024.
The extension followed reports from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) showing unresolved discrepancies in payments made by several revenue-generating agencies. The NNPCL and others have been directed to continue reconciliation with the government’s sub-committee on revenue to address the inconsistencies.
The controversy originated from findings by Periscope Consulting, hired by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, which accused the NNPCL of failing to remit over $42 billion (about ₦12.9 trillion) to the Federation Account between 2011 and 2017. The company submitted its official response on October 10, 2025, and an ad-hoc committee is currently reviewing the document.
FAAC records indicate that unreconciled funds total about ₦1.02 trillion and $137.84 million, involving the NNPCL, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Of that amount, ₦733.19 billion is linked to the NNPCL and NUPRC, while ₦296.25 billion involves differences between NNPCL and FIRS.
The NNPCL has also come under scrutiny for not remitting any interim dividends into the Federation Account this year, despite being expected to contribute around ₦271.18 billion monthly, or ₦2.17 trillion so far in 2025.
The World Bank recently raised concerns about the company’s transparency, saying its partial remittances have weakened Nigeria’s fiscal stability. It added that despite the fuel subsidy removal, NNPCL has only been transferring about half of the revenue gains from crude oil sales to the Federation Account.
Although NNPCL’s Group CEO, Bayo Ojulari, has repeatedly promised greater transparency and accountability, unresolved financial issues and legacy discrepancies continue to shadow the company’s operations.
The Finance Ministry’s Technical Reconciliation Committee is expected to conclude its review before the new December 2024 deadline, which could determine the final position on the disputed funds.
