Finance Minister Wale Edun says a forensic audit of the Nigerian Nationwide Petroleum Firm (NNPC) Restricted is at present underway as a part of efforts to handle lingering {financial} considerations and enhance transparency within the oil sector.
Edun made the disclosure in the course of the Nigerian Investor Discussion board held on the sidelines of the IMF and World {Bank} spring conferences in Washington DC, on Wednesday, April 23.
Chatting with world buyers, together with representatives from J.P. Morgan, Edun defined that the transfer was a part of broader reforms to reposition NNPC and reset the Nigerian financial system.
“There’s a forensic audit of NNPC underway in order that we are able to actually perceive what has occurred up to now. As for now, there’s a reconciliation train happening,” Edun stated.
He famous that following the gasoline subsidy elimination introduced on Could 29, 2023, NNPC started shouldering a part of the {financial} burden, which created some reliable claims.
“A part of that burden shifted from the federal government’s price range to NNPC. So, they’ve a reliable declare and so they have some arrears that should be given to them,” Edun defined.
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“However then it’s a two-sided factor. There’s a reconciliation on underway. And crucial factor is that NNPC wants to return to the desk with extra oil manufacturing, extra greenback income, and certainly, extra income to the federation. That’s the mandate they’ve been given and I believe they may ship.”
The announcement follows persistent requires a full audit of NNPC’s operations beneath its former management.
Lately, watchdog {groups} have raised alarms over opacity in NNPC’s oil-backed offers. In 2023, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) reported that NNPC didn’t remit $2 billion in taxes earlier than turning into a industrial entity. The corporate denied the declare.
In December 2024, auditors started probing NNPC’s ₦2.7 trillion subsidy refund declare. A separate January report from the auditor-general additionally indicted the agency for {financial} misconduct.
President Bola Tinubu, in response, appointed Bayo Ojulari as NNPC’s new group chief government officer on April 2, changing Mele Kyari. Ahmadu Musa Kida additionally took over as non-executive chairman.
Ojulari, who introduced a brand new eight-member senior administration crew shortly after his appointment, has pledged to draw $60 billion in funding by 2030.
He additionally goals to lift each day crude oil manufacturing to over two million barrels and maintain that via 2027, with a goal of three million barrels by 2030.
