FAAC ORDERS JOINT RECONCILIATION AS NNPCL, NGF AUDITOR CLASH OVER $42.37BN ALLEGED UNDER-REMITTANCE
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
A fresh dispute has erupted between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Periscope Consulting, the audit firm engaged by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), over an alleged $42.37bn (about N12.91tn) under-remittance of oil revenue to the Federation Account between 2011 and 2017
The renewed face-off has compelled the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to mandate a joint reconciliation session between both parties to determine the true status of the disputed funds and resolve the long-standing impasse.
The development was disclosed in FAAC’s Post-Mortem Sub-Committee review for November 2025, obtained on Tuesday. The document revealed that while Periscope Consulting insists that its audit uncovered major gaps in remittances, NNPCL has outrightly rejected the findings, maintaining that all revenues due to the Federation within the period under review were fully accounted for.
In its submission to FAAC, NNPCL stated that no outstanding amounts were owed to the Federation Account, disputing claims of significant underpayment. However, Periscope Consulting countered the position, insisting that the alleged $42.37bn shortfall remains unresolved.
Following the conflicting claims, the FAAC sub-committee directed both parties to hold a joint meeting to harmonise records and “close out” the matter, noting that the reconciliation process is still ongoing.
The dispute is the latest in a prolonged standoff between state governments and the national oil company over transparency in oil revenue remittances. In February 2025, FAAC suspended its statutory meeting following a disagreement with NNPCL over outstanding remittances estimated at N1.7tn, a development that raised fears of delayed allocations to states and local governments.
Commenting on the controversy, Professor Emeritus of Petroleum Economics, Wumi Iledare, described the alleged $42.37bn under-remittance as a “legacy problem” rooted in the pre-Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) era, when the former NNPC operated with overlapping roles that made revenue reconciliation difficult. He stressed that disciplined implementation of the PIA, real-time monitoring, and continuous independent audits remain critical to preventing future disputes.
Meanwhile, the FAAC Post-Mortem Sub-Committee also queried NNPCL over gaps in its reporting on the utilisation of the 30 per cent Frontier Exploration Fund, a statutory deduction for oil and gas exploration in frontier basins. Although NNPCL submitted utilisation records covering 2008 to 2024, the committee faulted the absence of project-specific expenditure details and has demanded a fresh reconciliation.
In a related development, FAAC confirmed that outstanding liabilities of N2.03tn owed by NNPCL to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for the period June to December 2023 are being reconciled. The obligations include N1.19tn in royalties and N843.28bn in taxes and are expected to be fully accounted for by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
The World Bank has also accused NNPCL of persistent revenue leakages, alleging that the company remits only about 50 per cent of revenue gains from fuel subsidy removal to the Federation Account. According to the bank, out of N1.1tn earned from crude sales and other income in 2024, only N600bn was remitted, leaving a deficit of N500bn unaccounted for.
Despite repeated assurances by the NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, on transparency and accountability, unresolved legacy issues and fresh audit disputes continue to cast a shadow over the company’s reform efforts.
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