The Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation has identified 28 significant financial irregularities involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, totaling approximately N61.1 billion.

The discrepancies include questionable payments and undocumented expenditures amounting to N30.1 billion, $51.6 million, £14.3 million, and €5.17 million.

According to the report obtained on Sunday these issues are detailed in the Auditor-General’s 2022 Annual Report on Non-Compliance (Volume II), covering transactions from the 2021 financial year across NNPCL and its subsidiaries.

In the document, NNPCL is accused of weak internal controls, unauthorised fund transfers, tax violations, irregular procurement practices, 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 amid earlier reports this year, which exposed long-standing financial discrepancies at the NNPCL.

Auditor-General’s annual reports from 2017 to 2021 previously indicted the company for diverting N2.68 trillion and $19.77 million over a four-year period.

The figures break down as follows: N1.33 trillion in 2017, N681.02 billion in 2019, N151.12 billion and $19.77 million in 2020, and N514 billion in 2021. The recurring issues—unremitted funds, unsupported transfers, and irregular withdrawals—highlight ongoing concerns over governance and accountability in the nation’s petroleum sector.

One of the most striking findings in the new report is Issue 2, which highlights the spending of £14,322,426.59 at NNPC’s London office without proper documentation. Auditors noted that the corporation failed to provide details on how the funds were used or any supporting schedules.

The Auditor-General noted that the Financial Regulations (2009) impose strict duties on all accounting officers, including ensuring robust internal controls and proper documentation for public spending. Specifically, Paragraph 112 mandates that officers establish clear rules and procedures to safeguard revenue.

Similarly, Paragraph 603(1) requires every payment voucher to include full details—dates, quantities, rates—and to be supported by invoices, purchase orders, letters of authority, and other relevant documents to allow verification without consulting additional files.

The audit, however, found that these statutory provisions were violated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) London Office in the 2021 financial year. The report revealed that the office spent £14,322,426.59 during the period, covering personnel costs, fixed contracts, and other operational expenses, without providing proper documentation or supporting schedules.

A detailed breakdown of the expenditure showed that personnel costs amounted to £5,943,124.74, fixed contracts and essential expenses totalled £1,436,177.11, and other operational costs stood at £6,943,124.74, bringing the overall spending to £14,322,426.59.

Despite the scale of the outlay, auditors were not provided with supporting documents nor granted access to verify how the funds were used. The report noted that the audit team could not determine whether the expenditure complied with due process or other requirements of the Financial Regulations.

The Auditor-General warned that the lack of documentation reflects “weaknesses in the internal control system” at NNPC Ltd, leaving the organisation exposed to the risk of diversion and misappropriation of public funds.

In response, NNPC management stated that the London Office operates as a service unit with an approved annual budget, and that the £14.32 million allocated for 2021 was spent in line with operational and financial requirements. The company said the office maintains detailed records of all transactions, including personnel and contract-related expenses, and expressed willingness to provide the documents if requested.

Management, however, argued that the audit query did not specify which transactions or line items were under scrutiny, making it difficult to provide targeted explanations. The company added that it remains committed to strengthening internal controls and ensuring compliance across all units.

The Auditor-General, however, rejected this response as unsatisfactory, emphasizing that the query remains valid until NNPC provides full accountability for the funds and implements the required corrective measures. The audit recommended that the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd appear before the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly to explain the utilisation of the £14,322,426.59 spent by the London Office in 2021.

The report read, “Audit observed that the sum of £14,322,426.59 (Fourteen million, three hundred and twenty two thousand, four hundred and twenty six pounds and fifty nine pence) was expended for the London Office during the 2021 financial year.

“Audit was not availed the necessary documents and the opportunity to confirm the utilisation of the funds that were managed by the London Office and to ascertain that the expenditure was made following due process and economy as required by the extant regulations. The above anomalies could be attributed to weaknesses in the internal control system at the NNPC, now NNPC Ltd.”