Mirian Gom 
ABUJA, Nigeria – The Federal Government has uncovered more than ₦60 billion in questionable transactions linked to 28 financial irregularities at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), according to the Auditor-General’s 2022 Non-Compliance Report submitted to the National Assembly.
The audit reveals undocumented payments totalling ₦30.1bn, $51.6m, £14.3m, and €5.17m, involving unauthorised virements, weak internal controls, tax infractions and abandoned projects. The Auditor-General’s office warned: “These findings highlight systemic weaknesses that continue to expose public funds to avoidable risk.”
A major red flag concerns £14.32m spent by NNPC’s London Office without supporting documents. The report says auditors were denied access to utilisation details, making it impossible to verify compliance with financial regulations.
On the naira side, irregularities include: ₦12.72bn unremitted to the General Reserve Fund, ₦3.445bn paid without the GMD’s approval, ₦2.379bn paid in irregular status-car options, ₦1.212bn paid to contractors without invoices, ₦474.46m spent through unauthorised virements, and ₦355.43m in demurrage on abandoned cargoes.
The report also cites procurement breaches, including inflated contract variations, an unjustified 30-month vessel substitution costing $1.93m, and an“emergency procurement” of custody meters worth $8.24m without justification.
Auditors warn that NNPC repeatedly failed to conduct statutory tax deductions, with ₦247.18m and $529,863 left unremitted. They recommend immediate recovery of unsupported payments and sanctions for officers responsible.
“Where officers fail to provide the required documents, the sums shall be recovered from them directly,” the report states.
About the Author
Oluwafunbi Bello 
Oluwatobi Adu 
Koko Maxwella 
Hussaini Ibrahim