Obi, Adegbite Disagree over Discovery of N210 Trillion Unremitted by NNPCL

A heated exchange has unfolded on X (formerly Twitter) between Charles Adegbite and Peter Obi, a former presidential candidate, over the recent revelation of financial irregularities in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The controversy surrounds the Senate’s discovery of ₦210 trillion in financial irregularities, which Obi claims is a “clear and damning confirmation of a nation held hostage by monumental corruption.”

However, Adegbite has countered Obi’s claims, stating that the Senate made an “egregious error” in understanding accounting terminologies.

According to Adegbite, the ₦103 trillion in “accrued expenses” refers to what NNPC owes, while the ₦107 trillion in “unaccounted receivables” refers to what is owed to NNPC.

By deducting the expenses from the receivables, Adegbite claims that the net amount is only ₦4 trillion, not ₦210 trillion.

Adegbite’s tweet suggests that Obi’s handler was “ignorant” and failed to get all the facts before posting the initial tweet.

The tweet also criticizes Obi for not knowing how to read an audit report, calling the ₦210 trillion figure “bogus and highly fictitious.”

Obi’s initial tweet had expressed sadness and outrage over the alleged financial irregularities, stating that Nigeria has become a “crime scene.”

He highlighted the total national budget from 2017 to 2023, which amounts to ₦88.010 trillion, and claimed that the financial discrepancies and irregularities are a “criminal institutionalized betrayal of the Nigerian people.”

The Twitter exchange has sparked a debate over the accuracy of the financial irregularities and the handling of the NNPC’s audited accounts. While Obi’s tweet garnered widespread attention and outrage, Adegbite’s response has raised questions about the validity of the claims and the need for a more nuanced understanding of the accounting terminologies involved.