By ADETUNJI ROGERS
The latest scrutiny of N7.13 trillion recorded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) as an energy-security expense in 2024 has reignited familiar questions about the national oil company’s financial accountability.
According to NNPC Ltd’s 2024 audited financial statements, the expenditure arose from a mechanism linked to the difference between the exchange rate used to freeze the ex coastal price of Premium Motor Spirit and the prevailing exchange rate when imports were settled. The company said the amount was receivable from the Federation and charged against amounts due to it under the Petroleum Industry Act. The broader “energy security cost” category also included expenditure relating to the protection of oil and gas assets.
The controversy, therefore, is not necessarily that NNPC spent money on energy security. Nor does the figure, standing alone, establish that funds were stolen or misappropriated. The more important question is whether the public can understand what the N7.13 trillion represents, how it was calculated, what specific expenditures it contains, who authorised them and what value was delivered in return.
That is where transparency becomes non negotiable.
