The Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation has uncovered 28 major financial irregularities linked to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, involving N30.1bn $51.6m, £14.3m, and €5.17m in questionable payments, undocumented expenditures, and breaches of financial regulations.
When converted to naira, the total amount is about N61.1bn The red flags, contained in the Auditor-General’s 2022 Annual Report on Non-Compliance (Volume II), detail transactions carried out during the 2021 financial year across the NNPCL and its subsidiaries.
The document was obtained by our correspondent on Sunday. The report, which has been transmitted to the National Assembly, accuses NNPCL of weak internal controls, unauthorised virements, tax infractions, irregular procurement, abandoned projects, and unsubstantiated settlements.
“These findings highlight systemic weaknesses that continue to expose public funds to avoidable risk. Where documents were not provided, payments were unjustified. Where approvals were absent, expenditure breached the law. Recovery and sanctions must follow,” the Auditor-General’s office said.
The latest audit revelations come against the backdrop of earlier reports by The PUNCH this year, which exposed long-running financial discrepancies involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
