Nigeria's ongoing efforts to reconcile oil revenues remitted to the Federation Account have stalled due to a major disagreement between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and independent consultants hired by the federal government and state governors.
According to the February 2026 FAAC Post-Mortem Sub-Committee Report, NNPCL and Periscope Consultants could not reach consensus on an alleged $42.3 billion (approximately ₦65 trillion at current rates) in under-remitted crude oil revenues owed to the Federation Account. NNPCL insists it has no outstanding refunds, while the consultants' findings suggest otherwise.
This impasse prevents final determination of exact oil proceeds distributable to federal, state, and local governments through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).The reconciliation process compares NNPCL's records against independent audits to ensure transparency in oil revenue flows, a critical lifeline for Nigeria's public sector funding. The sub-committee has directed both parties to resolve their differences and report back ahead of the next FAAC plenary, but the matter remains unresolved.
This dispute is distinct from a separate, high-profile Senate investigation into massive discrepancies in NNPCL's audited financial statements covering 2017 to 2023. The Senate Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Senator Aliyu Wadada, has identified a staggering ₦210 trillion gap, split into ₦103 trillion in unexplained accrued liabilities (including retention fees, legal fees, audit fees, and alleged cash-call payments to joint venture partners despite the cash-call system ending in 2016) and ₦107 trillion in unsubstantiated receivables (purportedly from defunct banks, without specifics or documentation).
These entries bypassed proper profit-and-loss accounting and lack supporting evidence or contract links, violating standard principles. The committee has deemed explanations from current NNPCL leadership, under Group Chief Executive Officer Bayo Ojulari, unsatisfactory and has summoned former top officials including ex-Group CEO Mele Kyari, ex-CFO Umar Ajiya, and ex-NAPIMS head Bala Wunti for a public hearing after the Eid break.
Additional concerns include alleged ₦5.8 billion spent on rebranding NNPC to NNPCL (with ₦2.9 billion duplicated across accounts) and potential inflation of subsidy claims through duplication between NNPC and its subsidiary NAPIMS, possibly reaching ₦3.8 trillion.
Senator Wadada stressed that the probe promotes transparency and accountability, is not politically driven, and largely concerns issues from before President Bola Tinubu's administration (which began in May 2023). He noted that President Tinubu, in his capacity as Minister of Petroleum Resources, could be invited to respond.
The ₦210 trillion figure dwarfs several past federal budgets, highlighting the scale of the alleged irregularities. Both matters underscore persistent challenges with revenue leakages, opaque deductions, and oversight in Nigeria's oil sector, as mandated by Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution for equitable federation revenue sharing.
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