Nigeria’s Missing ₦210 Trillion: The National Looting Company Must Be Stopped

Byline:

Dr. Michael Omoruyi is a technology strategist and public accountability advocate. He writes on governance, ethics, and transparency in Africa’s development.

Full Article:

When the Nigerian Senate announced this week that a staggering ₦210 trillion was unaccounted for in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), it wasn’t just a scandal—it was an indictment of a system so broken, so corrupt, it has defied every effort at reform. This is not just a financial discrepancy. It is a moral crime against the Nigerian people.

Let’s put this in perspective: ₦210 trillion is more than twice Nigeria’s combined national budgets from 2017 to 2023, a period when schools decayed, hospitals lacked basic supplies, and insecurity soared unchecked. Yet during that same time, NNPCL—a government-owned entity—operated like a sovereign state, unbothered by audits, accountability, or consequence.

This is not a new story. It is the same culture of impunity that allowed the old NNPC to mutate into a “limited liability company” in name only, while retaining its opaque, cartel-like operations. What is new, however, is the scale.

The Senate’s Committee on Public Accounts has flagged:

• ₦103 trillion in undocumented expenses—including nebulous legal and consultancy fees.

• ₦107 trillion in untraceable receivables—with no supporting ledgers or transaction records.

This is not mismanagement. This is systematic looting camouflaged in financial jargon.

As a nation, we must now ask the hard questions:

• Where are the so-called anti-corruption agencies?

• What is the purpose of NNPCL’s board if it cannot detect, deter, or disclose such anomalies?

• Why is NNPCL retreating to Kigali for a board meeting while under legislative investigation?

Even more troubling is the deafening silence from the executive branch. President Tinubu’s administration, which came to power under the banner of fiscal reform and economic revival, must speak with clarity and authority on this matter. To ignore it is to betray every struggling Nigerian.

And where is the outrage from the citizens? We cannot remain spectators while our collective wealth is swallowed in broad daylight. As Peter Obi aptly put it, “Nigeria has become a crime scene.”

Let this be a turning point. The Senate must go beyond mere hearings. There must be:

• Forensic audits by independent international firms

• Prosecution of officials involved in fraudulent disclosures

• Immediate restructuring of NNPCL’s financial governance framework

We can no longer afford business as usual. NNPCL, as it currently stands, has become a National Looting Company—a hemorrhage point in Nigeria’s economic anatomy. It must be stopped. If not now, then when?

Closing Note:

The fate of our future depends not on what senators uncover—but on what we, the people, demand. Let us rise with one voice: Enough is enough.