We uncovered ‘mind-boggling’ fraud at NNPCL — EFCC chair

NNPCL logo

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that a preliminary probe into the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has exposed “mind-boggling” corruption in the organisation.

Speaking on Wednesday during the third day of the National Conference on Public Accounts and Fiscal Governance—organised by the Public Accounts Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives in Abuja—Olukoyede said the EFCC had only just begun examining the NNPC Limited’s books. Yet, early findings already pointed to entrenched financial malfeasance.

“In the last three weeks, we launched a commission-wide investigation into the extractive industry, particularly the oil and gas sector. What we have discovered is mind-boggling,” Olukoyede said. “And we have only just opened the books. If this is what we’re seeing at the surface, imagine what lies beneath.”

President Bola Tinubu had in April sacked Mele Kyari as Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, replacing him with Bashir Ojulari. Kyari had led the state-owned oil firm since 2019.

The EFCC chairman noted that the discoveries so far represent only a fraction of the rot within the oil and gas sector, stressing that systemic fiscal mismanagement is a major contributor to Nigeria’s economic and security crises.

“There is a very strong connection between the mismanagement of our resources and insecurity. When you look at banditry, kidnapping, terrorism—trace it back, and you will find a pattern of corrupt practices and diversion of funds meant to improve people’s lives,” he stated.

Olukoyede urged the National Assembly to pass legislation that would criminalise unexplained wealth, arguing that the current legal framework impedes the Commission’s ability to act swiftly against suspects with disproportionate assets.

“Help me pass the Unexplained Wealth Bill. I’ve been begging for the past year. This same bill was thrown out in the last Assembly. If we don’t make individuals accountable for what they own, we’ll never get it right,” he said.