Arrest and imprison those who stole NNPCL funds – former CFO Ajiya urges Nigerian government.

Umar Ajiya, former Chief Financial Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), has called on the Federal Government to arrest and imprison those who have siphoned funds from the company.

Ajiya made the remarks while addressing the Senate, where allegations that N210 trillion was missing from NNPCL’s accounts were being discussed.

He dismissed the claims as false and inaccurate.

“The figures that have attracted the attention of many of you and the Nigerian public, that a huge sum of N5.8 billion was used to register the new company, NNPC, is not true; it’s inaccurate,” Ajiya said.

“The amount that was used to register that company is N2.9 billion and it was paid to two government agencies, the Corporate Affairs Commission and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (now the Nigeria Revenue Service). You can corroborate it with the CAC.”

He explained that the company, which is a subsidiary of Mobil, was expected to receive the registration funds from the federation under the Petroleum Industry Act, as the shareholders represent the Nigerian public. Because Mobil did not provide the money, NNPC paid the amount to the FIRS and CAC. “No third party was paid a kobo to register that company,” he added.

Regarding the second issue – the alleged N210 trillion – Ajiya said it was similar to what Hon Gudaji had mentioned about trillions missing due to stamp duty. “The reality here is that the whole revenue earned in the period under review for the whole NNPC, assuming no kobo was spent to produce the oil, was N54.5 trillion,” he said.

“So how can N210 trillion miss? I advise the Auditor General to conduct a forensic audit of NNPCL and uncover the truth. Whoever has stolen money must be found and jailed,” Ajiya urged.

“We don’t steal; we are patriotic, we block leakages. So when you hear people say that N210 trillion is missing, why is the N210 trn gone to? Ask the NFIU, EFCC, and all of them to go and look for it.”