The World Bank has raised concerns over low remittances by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) despite the removal of fuel subsidies.
These concerns were outlined by the apex bank in its Nigeria Development Update published on Monday.
According to the report, despite the removal of subsidies in October 2024, the NNPCL has failed to fully remit revenue to the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).
“Despite the subsidy being fully removed in October 2024, NNPCL started transferring the revenue gains to the Federation only in January 2025. Since then, it has been remitting only 50 percent of these gains, using the rest to offset past arrears.”
“Resolving any remaining net arrears and channeling the full benefits of subsidy reform to the Federation is critical for sound fiscal management.”
The document further stated:
“FGN revenues for 2025 are anticipated to be 70 percent from oil and 30 percent from non-oil sources, assuming full remittance of the fiscal savings from PMS subsidy removal.”
“However, as of March 2025, this full remittance had not yet occurred, as NNPCL claims it has large PMS-related subsidies that should be settled first.”
The apex bank also called for a forensic audit of the NNPCL.
It urged improved “transparency in accounting for oil revenues by conducting a forensic audit of NNPCL, and adopting standardized reporting to FAAC.”
A review of the document by this newspaper showed that the “Federation share of the NNPCL” stood at ₦500 billion between January and December 2023, but fell to ₦300 billion between January and December 2024.
The Persons with Significant Control (PSC) dividend from the NNPCL was ₦600 billion between January and December 2023 and dropped to ₦300 billion in the same period of 2024, according to the World Bank.
In October, 2024, the World Bank lamented the opacity of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company limited in terms of reporting it’s payments to the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee.
In the World Bank Nigeria Development update, the country was ranked as weak in terms of “improving the reporting of oil revenues to FAAC”.
It also stated that the country is weak in terms of reporting what is owed by the NNPC to the Federation and Vice Versa.
Earlier, this newspaper reported that hundreds of Nigerians stormed the Nigerian High Commission and the United Kingdom Home Office in London on Monday, demanding that the former boss of the NNPCL be deported to Nigeria to face corruption investigations.
The demonstrators, under the banner of Rescue Nigeria Now, gathered outside both institutions and submitted formal petitions.
They had accused Mele Kyari of fleeing Nigeria to evade accountability for alleged financial misconduct during his tenure at NNPCL from 2019 to 2025.
Sahara Reporters
