Ajiyya Solidarity Forum dismisses the NNPC N210tn missing funds claim, calling the allegation misleading and politically motivated

A coalition of professionals under the Ajiyya Solidarity Forum has dismissed allegations that about N210tn is missing from the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, describing the claim as misleading and politically motivated.

Also read: NNPC Reports Revenue Drop Despite Higher Oil Output

Speaking with journalists on Thursday, the forum’s National Coordinator, Usman Hamza, said the NNPC N210tn missing funds claim was “mathematically impossible” when placed against Nigeria’s fiscal realities.

The coalition was responding to remarks by the Chairman of the Senate Public Accounts Committee, Ahmed Wadada, who recently stated that the national oil company could not account for about N210tn in its financial records.

Hamza argued that such a figure was inconsistent with the scale of Nigeria’s national finances.

“Senator Wadada’s claim of N210tn ‘unaccounted for’ funds is a mathematical impossibility designed to shock the public,” he said.

According to the forum, Nigeria’s entire 2024 national budget stood at about N28.7tn, making the alleged missing sum implausibly large.

“To suggest that a single entity ‘lost’ nearly eight times the national budget is an insult to the intelligence of Nigerians,” Hamza added.

The forum also criticised threats of arrest warrants reportedly directed at former officials of NNPC Limited, including the company’s former Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajiya, describing the move as part of what it called a coordinated campaign of political blackmail.

Hamza said the Senate committee may have misinterpreted financial records by combining accrued expenses and receivables in a way that created the impression of missing funds.

“We consider that the committee has erroneously ‘netted’ N103tn in accrued expenses, largely joint venture liabilities, with N107tn in receivables owed to NNPCL. Labelling money owed to a company as ‘missing funds’ is a professional travesty,” he said.

The Ajiyya Solidarity Forum maintained that the allegations overlooked broader financial and structural reforms carried out at the oil company in recent years.

Hamza noted that Ajiya’s tenure coincided with the transformation of the national oil corporation into a commercially driven entity under the Petroleum Industry Act, a landmark reform aimed at improving transparency in the sector.

“Mr Ajiya’s tenure saw the transition of NNPC into a commercially driven entity and the publication of the first audited financial statements in 43 years,” the forum said.

The group also defended the N5.9bn cost associated with the transition of the former state corporation into a limited liability company, explaining that the expenditure covered complex legal and structural processes required to establish the new corporate framework.

In addition, the forum warned that politicising the Senate’s oversight responsibilities could undermine Nigeria’s credibility with international investors.

“Using the Senate’s hallowed chambers to pursue personal vendettas damages Nigeria’s reputation with international investors,” Hamza said.

The coalition called on Senate leadership to initiate an independent ethics investigation into what it described as an alleged demand for bribes connected to the ongoing oversight exercise.

Hamza urged lawmakers to allow a thorough forensic review of financial records rather than relying on what he described as sensational claims.

Also read: NNPC Denies $42bn Refund as Senate Probes N210tn Oil Discrepancy

“Public accountability should be pursued through a sober forensic review of facts, not through sensational claims and phantom numbers,” he said.