The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is facing intense scrutiny after the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) issued a seven-day ultimatum to its Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Bayo Bashir Ojulari, demanding immediate action over alleged missing oil money amounting to billions of Naira and millions of foreign currency.
The call, detailed in a letter dated October 25, 2025, is in response to the recently published 2022 annual report by the Auditor-General of the Federation on September 9, 2025, which documented substantial financial irregularities.
SERAP is specifically urging Mr Ojulari to account for N22.3 billion, $49.7 million, £14.3 million, and €5.2 million in oil money feared to have been diverted or misappropriated.
Signed by SERAP’s deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation insisted the NNPCL boss must identify those responsible and hand them over to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for prosecution, as appropriate.
Furthermore, SERAP demanded the full recovery and return of the staggering sums to the treasury without delay.
SERAP views the allegations as a "grave violation of the public trust, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], anticorruption laws, and the country’s international obligations.
The rights group argued that years of documented disappearance of oil money have undermined the economic development of the country, trapped the majority of Nigerians in poverty and deprived them of opportunities.
"Despite the country’s enormous oil wealth," the letter read in part, "ordinary Nigerians have derived very little benefit from oil money primarily because of the widespread grand corruption including in the NNPCL, and the entrenched culture of impunity of perpetrators."
The organisation linked the alleged missing revenues directly to the NNPCL’s "failure to uphold the principles of transparency and accountability," noting that the funds could have been allocated to vital sectors like education and healthcare, significantly reducing the government’s reliance on deficit spending and borrowing.
The Auditor-General's report, as cited by SERAP, highlighted a trend of suspicious payments and a lack of documentation within the NNPCL.
Among the specific instances are:
* The failure to account for over N22.3 billion, USD$49.7 million, £14.3 million and €5.2 million in oil money, which the Auditor-General fears may have been diverted.
* An irregular payment of over N292 million for an abandoned Accident and Emergency Facility contract in Abuja.
* Over £14 million spent on repairing the London office in 2021 with "no evidence" or documents of actual spending.
* An 'irregular payment' of over USD$22 million to a contractor for lifting crude oil, while the amount due to NNPCL for the same period was only $4.8 million.
* Over N2.3 billion 'irregularly paid' as a car cash option to 100 staff without the required approval or rationale.
* Failure to deduct statutory taxes totalling over N247 million and $529,000 from payments to contractors.
* Over N3 billion paid for various services 'without any documents or trace.'
* An irregular payment of over €5 million for the operation and maintenance of the Atlas Cove Jetty Facility, also without documentation.
* Failure to remit over N12 billion into the general reserve fund from its operating surplus for December 2020.
* $12.4 million paid for a new diesel generation set at Mosimi Depot with no evidence of the project being completed.
SERAP warned that failure to comply with its demands within seven days will result in the organisation considering "appropriate legal actions to compel the NNPCL to comply with our requests in the public interest."
The organisation concluded by stating that Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution requires all public institutions to abolish corrupt practices and abuse of power.
#NNPCLScandal #MissingOilMoney #SERAP #AuditReport #CorruptionInNigeria #OilSectorAccountability
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