Alhaji Bala Wunti, the former head of NAPIMS, informed the Senate that no ₦210 trillion is missing from the 2023 audited financial statements of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, chairing the review committee, corroborated this, stating that their investigation has uncovered no evidence of misappropriated funds.
Wunti clarified that the reported missing sum stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of financial documentation. The figure emerged when analysts erroneously combined ₦107 trillion in sundry receivables with ₦103 trillion in accrued expenses. Wunti emphasized that these figures represent distinct categories—money owed to the firm and liabilities owed to external parties—which must remain separate under standard accounting principles.
Regarding the incorporation costs of NNPC Ltd., Wunti addressed rumors of a ₦5.8 billion expenditure. He confirmed that only ₦2.45 billion was paid for statutory filing fees and stamp duties to the Corporate Affairs Commission and the Federal Inland Revenue Service. He noted that the discrepancy arose from internal accounting entries recording the same payment twice across different books, rather than any loss of capital.
Senator Dankwambo noted that the committee’s objective is to foster transparency and bridge knowledge gaps regarding complex energy sector accounting. The panel intends to review Wunti’s formal submission against the 2023 audit before finalizing its conclusions on the matter.
