The World Bank has raised concerns over the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL)’s handling of funds from the petrol subsidy removal.
According to the World Bank’s May 2025 Nigeria Development Update, the NNPCL began transferring the financial gains from the subsidy removal to the Federation Account in January 2025, three months after the full subsidy elimination in October 2024.
Furthermore, the NNPCL has reportedly remitted only 50% of the anticipated revenue, allegedly using the remainder to offset unspecified “past arrears.”
These revelations have intensified scrutiny of Mele Kyari, who served as the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPCL from July 2019 until his removal in April 2025.
During his tenure, Kyari faced multiple allegations of financial mismanagement, including the failure to remit oil sales revenue to the Federation Account for several months in 2022, amounting to N2.1 trillion.
Additionally, there were accusations of corruption, embezzlement, and the supply of adulterated fuel, which led to widespread public protests and calls for his dismissal.
In response to these concerns, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu removed Kyari from his position and appointed Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new GCEO in April 2025. Despite Kyari’s removal, the World Bank’s report indicates that the issues related to the remittance of subsidy savings persist, raising questions about the continuity of financial practices within the NNPCL.
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The World Bank has urged the Nigerian government to enhance transparency and accountability in the management of oil revenues to ensure that the benefits of the subsidy removal are fully realized and equitably distributed.
The World Bank noted that if all subsidy savings were remitted in full, oil revenues would constitute 70 per cent of the federal government’s earnings in 2025, with non-oil sources contributing the remaining 30 per cent.
An insider at NNPCL, speaking anonymously, said the situation was not unexpected and pointed to Nigeria’s long-standing commitments tied to international loans and production-sharing contracts.
“Nigeria has been entangled in debt for nearly three decades. While subsidy removal is expected to increase government revenue, much of that money is going towards repaying obligations, some of which were never recorded as revenue in the national budget,” the source said.
“Some repayments are deducted at source. These are complex international arrangements that the federal government must honour,” the official added.
