Forum Dismisses Claim of ₦210 Trillion Missing from NNPCL Accounts
Abuja, Nigeria — A coalition of professionals operating under the Ajiyya Solidarity Forum (ASF) has dismissed allegations that about ₦210 trillion is missing from the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), describing the claim as misleading and mathematically implausible.
The group made its position known while addressing journalists on Thursday, reacting to claims by the chairman of the Senate Public Accounts Committee, Ahmed Wadada, who had earlier suggested that the national oil company could not account for the large sum.
ASF National Coordinator Usman Hamza said the figure cited by the lawmaker does not align with Nigeria’s economic realities and may have resulted from a misinterpretation of financial data. According to him, suggesting that the state oil company misplaced ₦210 trillion would imply losses several times larger than Nigeria’s national budget.
Hamza noted that the country’s 2024 national budget stood at about ₦28.7 trillion, making it unrealistic for a single government entity to lose a sum many times greater than the federal budget.
Dispute Over Accounting Figures
The forum argued that the controversy likely arose from the way certain figures were presented in the company’s financial records. It explained that lawmakers may have combined ₦103 trillion in accrued expenses with ₦107 trillion in receivables owed to NNPCL, creating the impression that the funds were missing.
According to Hamza, classifying receivables — money owed to the company — as missing funds reflects a misunderstanding of corporate accounting principles.
“Labelling money owed to a company as missing funds is a professional travesty,” he said, urging stakeholders to examine the figures more carefully before drawing conclusions.
Reaction to Senate Investigation
The forum also criticised threats of possible arrest warrants against former officials of the national oil company, including former Chief Financial Officer Umar Ajiya, describing such moves as part of what it called a campaign of political pressure.
It maintained that the allegations overlooked significant reforms within the oil company, especially the transition of the former Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation into NNPC Limited, a commercially driven entity established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The group urged the Senate committee to conduct a more technical review of the company’s financial statements to avoid creating unnecessary public alarm.
The controversy follows ongoing scrutiny by lawmakers over NNPCL’s financial records as part of broader efforts to strengthen transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.