The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has confirmed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is currently undergoing a forensic audit.
This program is a component of the federal government’s larger endeavors to improve accountability and transparency in important national organizations.
Edun revealed that the government is doing a thorough reconciliation of its financial records while speaking at the Nigeria Investment Forum in Washington, D.C. Making sure that NNPCL boosts its contribution to Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves through enhanced oil revenue generation is at the heart of this exercise.
The finance minister emphasized that the audit will provide insight into past financial dealings and make clear the scope of NNPCL’s financial commitments, particularly those pertaining to the now-defunct fuel subsidy scheme.
“There is a NNPC audit going on regarding NNPC arrears, so that we can truly understand what has happened in the past,” Edun said.
He clarified that even though President Bola Tinubu announced the end of the fuel subsidy program on May 29, 2023, it was gradually eliminated. He pointed out that NNPCL took on a portion of the financial load throughout the transition.
As everyone is aware, the termination of the fuel subsidy was announced on May 29, 2023, but it took some time to accomplish. For this reason, there are currently some reconciliation operations underway. Meanwhile, some of that load was transferred to NNPC from the government’s budget,” he clarified.
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Edun alleges that the national oil firm has filed “legitimate claims” for arrears stemming from the delay in the elimination of subsidies. He did, however, stress the necessity of a thorough investigation to verify the veracity of those assertions.
It’s a two-way street. Reconciliation is in progress,” he continued.
Edun gave the NNPCL a clear mandate for the future, which is to increase crude oil production and provide more revenue in dollars for the Federation Account.
“NNPC must present the Federation with more oil production, more revenue, and more money in the form of dollars. They have been assigned that responsibility and mandate. And they will deliver, I believe,” he said.
