The Federal Government has extended its ongoing probe and reconciliation of payments made by major revenue-generating agencies, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), to December 2024, following unresolved discrepancies in remittances to the Federation Account.
This development follows NNPCL’s submission of its response to allegations that it under-remitted $42.37 billion, about N12.91 trillion, to the Federation Account between 2011 and 2017.
Documents from the October 2025 meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) showed that the extension was approved after the sub-committee overseeing the monthly reconciliation meetings reported that several outstanding figures were still under review.
According to the report, “Members should note that the above outstanding amounts are still being reconciled at the monthly reconciliation meetings between the agencies and the sub-committee. Furthermore, the outstanding payments from the Revenue Generating Agencies before June 2023 were referred to the Stakeholders Alignment Committee.”
The FAAC document further revealed that unresolved balances before June 2023 have now been referred to the Stakeholders Alignment Committee for deeper scrutiny.
To ensure proper reporting, the NNPCL was directed to provide actual remittance figures to replace previously submitted estimates. “Also, the second phase of the reconciliation extended the period to December 2024, and NNPCL was mandated to provide its actual figure to replace the estimates. The Sub-Committee awaits the outcome of the report of the Technical Reconciliation Committee meeting conveyed by the Ministry of Finance,” the report added.
The sub-committee confirmed it was awaiting the report of the Technical Reconciliation Committee, convened by the Federal Ministry of Finance, to harmonise all submissions from relevant agencies.
The total unreconciled amount includes N1.02 trillion and $137.84 million in outstanding revenue from key agencies such as the NNPCL, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
A breakdown of the figures showed that although no dollar remittance gap was recorded directly under the NNPCL category, the company and NUPRC jointly had an outstanding N733.19 billion. Another N296.25 billion was attributed to discrepancies between FIRS and NNPCL, while $69.03 million and $68.02 million were traced to unresolved balances involving FIRS, NNPCL, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and NUPRC.
The extended reconciliation comes amid long-standing disputes between the NNPCL and government fiscal authorities over alleged under-remittance of crude oil earnings and other revenues.
FAAC records revealed that the Federal Government has begun reviewing the NNPCL’s formal response to the $42.37 billion under-remittance allegation. The review followed findings by Periscope Consulting, a firm engaged by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), which accused the state oil firm of withholding crude oil proceeds and other statutory revenues between 2011 and 2017.
According to the FAAC document titled “Update on NNPC’s Alleged Under Remittances to the Federation Account of $42,373,896,555.00”, the NNPCL requested a two-month extension to respond to the allegations.
“During the Sub-Committee’s meeting, NNPCL reported that it had submitted its response on October 10, 2025, as requested. The ad hoc committee set up to examine the issue was mandated to study the submission and report back. This assignment is still a work in progress,” the document stated.
The issue is further complicated by the company’s failure to remit interim dividends into the Federation Account this year.
FAAC data showed that the oil firm was expected to contribute N271.18 billion monthly, translating to N2.17 trillion year-to-date, but no payments have been made so far. This shortfall has widened the government’s fiscal gap and affected monthly allocations to states and local governments.
The extension of the probe aligns with recent concerns raised by the World Bank, which accused NNPCL of failing to fully remit oil revenues to the Federation Account, undermining fiscal transparency and macroeconomic stability.
The Bank noted that while NNPCL was corporatised in 2021 to operate commercially, it still retains monopoly control over crude oil sales and foreign exchange inflows, resulting in recurring gaps between declared and remitted earnings.
“NNPCL has remained a key source of revenue leakages,” the World Bank said, urging the government to “strengthen oversight, ensure full disclosure of oil proceeds, and improve transparency in federation revenue management.”
The Bank further alleged that the company remits only 50 per cent of the revenue gains from the removal of the petrol subsidy. Out of N1.1 trillion generated from crude sales and other income in 2024, only N600 billion was remitted, leaving N500 billion unaccounted for.
“Despite the subsidy being fully removed in October 2024, NNPCL started transferring the revenue gains to the Federation only in January 2025. Since then, it has been remitting only 50 per cent of these gains, using the rest to offset past arrears,” the Bank stated
Since assuming office, Bayo Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, has repeatedly pledged to entrench transparency, efficiency, and accountability in the company’s operations. He has assured Nigerians and investors that the company’s accounts would be transparent and compliant with fiscal rules.
However, despite these assurances, legacy issues from previous years—especially allegations of multi-billion-dollar under-remittances—continue to cast doubt on the company’s transparency drive and its relationship with the Federation Account.
