Former NAPIMS (National Petroleum Investment Management Services) official Alhaji Bala Wunti testifies before Nigeria’s Senate that there is no evidence any ₦210 trillion is missing from NNPC Ltd.’s accounts. Presenting his position to the Senate committee reviewing NNPC Ltd.’s 2023 audited financial statements, he says his examination of the documents, including a page-by-page review, finds no basis for the allegation.
Wunti argues the widely cited ₦210 trillion figure results from a misunderstanding of accounting classifications. He says the number comes from incorrectly combining two distinct balance-sheet items: about ₦107 trillion in sundry receivables—amounts owed to NNPC—and about ₦103 trillion in accrued expenses—amounts NNPC owes as liabilities. According to him, accounting standards require those items to be reported separately and they cannot be treated as “missing money.”
He also responds to claims that ₦5.8 billion was spent on incorporating NNPC Ltd. under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), saying statutory payments to the Corporate Affairs Commission and Federal Inland Revenue Service for fees and stamp duties total about ₦2.45 billion, with the higher figure reflecting internal accounting entries.
Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, chair of the committee, says it has not found evidence of missing funds and will consider Wunti’s written submission alongside the accounts before further steps.
