World Bank Raises Alarm: SERAP Demands Urgent Probe Into Disappeared ₦500bn

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on Mr. Bayo Bashir Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), to provide a full explanation and account for the ₦500 billion allegedly unremitted to the Federation Account between October and December 2024, as revealed in a recent World Bank report.

SERAP also demanded that Mr. Ojulari identify all individuals involved, recover the funds from them, and hand them over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for investigation and prosecution.

The group further urged NNPCL’s leadership to invite the EFCC and ICPC to investigate the usage and current location of the missing funds and to ensure that the entire amount is recovered and remitted to the Federation Account without further delay.

According to the World Bank, the NNPCL generated ₦1.1 trillion in revenue from crude oil sales and other income sources in 2024, but remitted only ₦600 billion—leaving ₦500 billion unaccounted for. In a related development, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also recently recommended that savings from the fuel subsidy removal should be redirected into the national budget.

In a Freedom of Information request dated May 17, 2025, and signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization emphasized the public’s right to know how the country’s oil revenues are managed and cited violations of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended).

SERAP argued that Nigeria’s oil wealth belongs to the people and should be used exclusively to promote their welfare and development. The organization questioned why NNPCL failed to remit the subsidy savings and why it is seemingly withholding allocations from states and local governments, in clear violation of the Constitution.

The letter stressed: “The Nigerian people are bearing the consequences of this financial mismanagement by the NNPCL, which has withheld public funds critical for national development.”

SERAP warned that if its recommendations are not acted upon within seven days of receiving or publishing the letter, it will take appropriate legal action to compel the NNPCL to comply.

The organization concluded that the missing oil revenue underscores a deeper failure in the NNPCL’s commitment to transparency and accountability, and highlighted that the Nigerian Constitution, the Freedom of Information Act, and the country’s anti-corruption and human rights obligations mandate full disclosure of public resource management.