A renewed dispute has erupted between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Periscope Consulting, the audit firm engaged by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), over an alleged $42.37bn (₦12.91tn) shortfall in oil revenue remittances to the Federation Account between 2011 and 2017.
Fresh submissions from both parties have now prompted the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to order a joint reconciliation meeting in a bid to resolve the longstanding impasse. This directive is contained in FAAC’s November 2025 post-mortem report, obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday.
The dispute resurfaced months after The PUNCH reported an extension of the ongoing reconciliation exercise into December 2024, following unresolved discrepancies in remittances by revenue-generating agencies, including NNPCL.
NNPCL Rejects Audit Findings, Denies Outstanding Debt
Periscope Consulting had earlier accused NNPCL of failing to remit crude oil proceeds and other statutory revenues amounting to $42.37bn during the six years under review.
However, FAAC’s sub-committee confirmed that NNPCL formally rejected the audit, insisting that it owes no outstanding amount to the Federation Account.
According to the report, NNPCL maintains that all revenues due to the Federation were “properly accounted for,” disputing the audit firm’s claim of significant underpayments.
Periscope Consulting has countered NNPCL’s defence, reaffirming that its audit exposed “substantial gaps” in remittances that remain unresolved.
The sub-committee noted the conflicting positions and directed both parties to meet jointly to reconcile their records. “This assignment is work in progress,” the document stated.
The renewed confrontation is the latest in a series of disputes between state governments and NNPCL over alleged opacity in oil revenue flows. In February 2025, FAAC was forced to suspend its meeting following disagreements with NNPCL over an estimated ₦1.7tn in unremitted revenues, raising fears of delays in allocations to states heavily dependent on FAAC disbursements.
The NGF contracted Periscope Consulting after persistent complaints of gaps in NNPCL’s handling of crude oil sales, domestic allocations, subsidy deductions, and joint venture cash calls—areas critics say have historically lacked transparency.
Expert Describes Issue as a “Legacy Problem”
Renowned petroleum economist, Prof. Emeritus Wumi Iledare, described the alleged $42.37bn shortfall as symptomatic of systemic weaknesses in the pre–Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) regime.
He said the former NNPC’s overlapping regulatory and commercial roles made reconciliation “difficult and prone to disputes.”
According to him, “The future depends on disciplined implementation of the PIA, real-time monitoring, and continuous independent audits.”
FAAC’s post-mortem review also queried NNPCL’s reporting on the utilisation of the 30% Frontier Exploration Fund, a statutory allocation for oil and gas exploration in frontier basins.
NNPCL reportedly submitted utilisation records covering 2008–2024, but the sub-committee noted the absence of project-specific details linking expenditure to activities in each basin. FAAC has requested a breakdown of projects and costs, and is still awaiting NNPCL’s updated submission.
Reconciliation Ongoing
With both parties maintaining opposing positions, FAAC faces renewed pressure to reconcile accounts and restore confidence in oil revenue administration—critical for fiscal stability at federal, state, and local government levels.
The reconciliation process, the committee stressed, “remains ongoing.”
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