The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, announced on Wednesday that a forensic audit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company is currently underway.
He made this disclosure at an Investors’ Forum during the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings in Washington D.C.
It was earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu had dismissed the entire NNPC board, including Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari and board chairman Pius Akinyelure.
Kyari, originally appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, was reappointed by President Tinubu in 2023.
Following the dismissal of the former leadership, President Tinubu appointed a new board for the NNPC, including a new GCEO as part of efforts to reposition the company.
“The new 11-man board has Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman,” the presidency said in a statement.
Speaking to a gathering of investors, fund managers, and financial experts in Washington on Wednesday, the Minister revealed that the Nigerian government plans to reconcile the books of the NNPC.
“The NNPC needs to come to the table with more dollar revenue,”Edun stated, emphasizing the government’s broader efforts to revamp oil production amid global economic uncertainty, which has been exacerbated by the tariff war between the United States and major economies like China.
It was previously reported that the Office of Nigeria’s Auditor-General had indicted the NNPC for alleged misappropriation of funds and diversion of revenue intended for the Federation Account in 2021.
The report, published in November 2024 and recently submitted to the National Assembly in line with constitutional provisions, contained serious indictments against the NNPC Limited.
The report raised numerous red flags concerning misappropriation of funds. Notably, it indicted the state-owned oil firm for unauthorised deductions of N82.9 billion from federation revenue, allegedly for refinery rehabilitation—an act not backed by proper approvals.
