SERAP Wants NNPC to Account for Alleged N825bn, $2.5 Billion ‘Missing’ Oil MoneyChuks Okocha in Abuja

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) yesterday urged the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mele Kyari, to give account of the alleged missing N825 billion and $2.5 billion meant for refinery rehabilitation  and others.
The alleged missing funds, it said in a letter, was documented in the 2021 annual report by the Auditor General of the Federation, published on Thursday, November 27, 2024.

SERAP urged Kyari to identify those suspected to be responsible for the disappearance of the money and hand them over to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
It urged him to formally invite former president Olusegun Obasanjo to tour Nigeria’s refineries and to extend the same invitation to the EFCC and ICPC to monitor the operations of the refineries, and any spending on them, including the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.

In the letter dated January 4, 2025 and signed by SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “We welcome your timely public invitation to former president Obasanjo to tour the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.
“While your invitation is clearly not disrespectful, contrary to the claims by the former president because no one is above the law, we urge you to formally invite him, and to extend your invitation to the EFCC and ICPC for the sake of transparency and accountability.

“Your public invitation to Obasanjo is well-justified, and entirely consistent with the letter and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) and the country’s international obligations of the NNPC and the roles of citizens in preventing and combating grand corruption,” it added.
SERAP stated that the  allegations by the Auditor General suggest a grave violation of the public trust and the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, national anti-corruption laws, and the country’s international obligations.
“The allegations have also undermined economic development of the country, trapped the majority of Nigerians in poverty and deprived them of opportunities.

“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel the NNPC to comply with our requests in the public interest,” it stated.
According to the recently published 2021 audited report, SERAP quoted the Auditor General as saying that the NNPC failed to account for over N825 billion and $2.5 billion of public funds, noting that there were concerns that the money may be missing.

“The NNPC reportedly failed to account for over N82 billion  meant for ‘refinery rehabilitation and repairs.’ The money was deducted from the sale of Crude Oil and Gas between 2020 and 2021.
“The Auditor-General fears the money may be missing. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the Federation Account. He also wants the NNPC ‘to ensure that the amounts due for the Federation Account are not subjected to any deductions before remittance of net.

“The NNPC also reportedly failed to account for over N343 billion ‘being proceeds from domestic crude sales.’ The money, meant for ‘pipelines maintenance and management costs, was unilaterally deducted from the gross domestic crude sales,” SERAP added.
It said the NNPC also reportedly failed to account for over N83 billion, being miscellaneous income from the NNPC joint venture operations from 2016 to 2020, with the money  withdrawn from the CBN/NNPC sinking fund account.

“The Auditor General is concerned that this practice has led the Federation to resort to borrowings. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury. The NNPC also reportedly failed to account for over N204 billion ‘being unjustified deductions from the oil royalties for 2021.’ The money was due to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), now Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

“The NNPC also reportedly failed to account for over N3.7 billion being money purportedly paid to a Company as a shortfall on sales of MT cargo of PMS. The Auditor-General fears the money may be missing. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury,” the group pointed out.

It said the report further noted that the NNPC also reportedly failed to account for over N28 billion, being outstanding bridging allowance from NNPC retail for 2021 and over N13.5 billion, being outstanding bridging allowance claims from three major oil marketers in 2021.

In the same vein, it observed that the NNPC failed to account for over N15 billion, being outstanding revenues from debts owed by 26 marketers for 2021 as well as over $29.6 million  outstanding royalties payable to the DPR’s CBN account.

“The NNPC failed to collect over $2 billion, being outstanding oil royalties from oil companies for 2021, and failed to collect over N48 billion, also outstanding oil royalties from oil companies,” it added.