ABUJA — Former Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Alhaji Bala Wunti, has told the Senate that there is no evidence in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.)’s 2023 audited financial statements to support claims that ₦210 trillion is missing from the company’s accounts.
Wunti made the clarification while appearing before the Senate Committee reviewing NNPC Ltd.’s 2023 audited financial statements, where he explained that the widely reported ₦210 trillion figure stemmed from a misinterpretation of accounting entries rather than any missing funds.
According to him, a page-by-page review of the audited accounts, conducted at the committee’s request, revealed no reference to missing ₦210 trillion.
He explained that the disputed figure was arrived at by incorrectly combining two separate balance sheet items: about ₦107 trillion recorded as sundry receivables—funds owed to NNPC Ltd.—and approximately ₦103 trillion recorded as accrued expenses, representing the company’s liabilities.
“Receivables are money other people owe you, while accrued expenses are money you owe other people. Accounting standards require that these items be reported separately. They cannot simply be added together and described as missing money,” Wunti told lawmakers.
Testifying under oath, Wunti maintained that the audited financial statements contain no evidence of missing funds.
The former NAPIMS chief, who served from March 2020 before becoming Chief Offshore Investment Officer of the NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS) until December 2024, noted that although his tenure did not cover the entire period under review, it substantially overlapped with the years being examined, enabling him to provide context on the accounting framework.
He further explained that NNPC Ltd.’s financial reporting is more complex than that of conventional commercial organisations because the company operates as a commercial entity while also managing petroleum assets on behalf of the Federation and performing strategic responsibilities related to Nigeria’s energy security.
According to Wunti, despite the separation of commercial and regulatory functions under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), NNPC Ltd. continues to maintain distinct accounting records to reflect both its commercial operations and its management of Federation-owned assets.
Addressing another controversy, Wunti dismissed reports that ₦5.8 billion was spent on incorporating NNPC Ltd. following the implementation of the PIA. He clarified that the actual statutory payments made to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for filing fees and stamp duties amounted to about ₦2.45 billion.
He explained that the higher figure being circulated resulted from accounting entries recorded in separate books after one arm of the organisation made payments on behalf of government shareholders while another recorded the transactions for statutory reporting purposes.
“The only money paid was about ₦2.45 billion, and it went directly to government institutions. No third party received any payment,” he said.
Wunti also called for stronger collaboration between NNPC Ltd., the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation to improve understanding of the company’s accounting structure and the legal framework governing its operations.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Senate Committee, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, affirmed that the committee had not established that any money was missing from NNPC Ltd.’s accounts.
He said the ongoing review was aimed at promoting transparency and achieving a proper understanding of the company’s 2023 audited financial statements rather than validating allegations of missing funds.
Dankwambo added that the committee would study Wunti’s written submission alongside the audited accounts before deciding whether further clarification would be required.
The Senate’s review of NNPC Ltd.’s 2023 audited financial statements has drawn significant public attention amid allegations of financial irregularities and differing interpretations of figures contained in the company’s accounts.
Comments