“Monumental Fraud”: Senate Rejects NNPCL’s Defense and Orders Refund of Missing ₦210 Trillion
ABUJA— The Nigerian Senate has escalated its crackdown on financial irregularities within the nation’s oil sector, officially rejecting the written explanations provided by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) regarding a staggering ₦210 trillion in unaccounted funds.
Following intense scrutiny by the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, lawmakers have directed the NNPCL to refund the entire sum to the Federation Account. The controversial funds span the company’s operations between 2017 and 2023.
This massive financial scandal presents a critical test for the current NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, who took over from Mele Kyari in April 2025. The Senate committee has warned that it will not tolerate evasiveness and may subpoena former NNPCL and NAPIMS officials if the current management fails to provide clear answers. Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is also investigating 14 NNPCL officials, including the former GCEO, Mele Kyari, over separate fraud allegations.
Breaking Down the Missing ₦210 Trillion
The Senate Committee, chaired by Senator Aliyu Wadada, uncovered massive discrepancies after reviewing 19 audit queries raised by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation.
According to the committee’s findings, the NNPCL attempted to justify the ₦210 trillion gap by splitting it into two highly questionable categories: Accrued Expenses: The NNPCL claimed it spent ₦103 trillion as accrued expenses. Unverified Receivables: The company recorded the remaining ₦107 trillion as receivables.
Senator Wadada dismissed the NNPCL’s defense, describing the company’s financial submissions as contradictory, unsatisfactory, and unjustifiable.
The Cash Call Anomaly and “Defunct Banks”
Lawmakers identified glaring red flags in the NNPCL’s financial documentation.
First, the NNPCL claimed it paid the ₦103 trillion in cash calls to joint venture partners in 2023 alone. Senator Wadada fiercely contested this claim, pointing out that former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration officially abolished cash call arrangements in 2016. Furthermore, the committee questioned how the NNPCL could afford a ₦103 trillion payout in a single year when its total crude oil revenue between 2017 and 2022 amounted to only ₦24 trillion.
Secondly, regarding the ₦107 trillion in receivables, the NNPCL asserted that part of the funds was held in “defunct banks”. However, the company failed to name the banks or provide concrete evidence of the trapped funds, a move the committee condemned as an unacceptable lack of transparency.
What Happens Next?
The Senate has reached a firm conclusion: the ₦210 trillion must be returned to the Nigerian national treasury.
This massive financial scandal presents a critical test for the current NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, who took over from Mele Kyari in April 2025. The Senate committee has warned that it will not tolerate evasiveness and may subpoena former NNPCL and NAPIMS officials if the current management fails to provide clear answers.
Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is also investigating 14 NNPCL officials, including the former GCEO, Mele Kyari, over separate fraud allegations.