A former Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Bala Wunti, has told the Senate that allegations of a missing N210 trillion from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) accounts are unfounded and based on a misreading of the company’s financial records.

Speaking before the Senate committee reviewing NNPC Ltd.‘s 2023 audited financial statements, Wunti said his independent examination of the documents revealed no evidence that such an amount had disappeared from the company’s books.

According to him, the controversial figure arose after two separate accounting entries were mistakenly combined. He explained that one figure, estimated at about N107 trillion, represented receivables owed to NNPC Ltd., while another N103 trillion reflected accrued expenses, which are liabilities the company is expected to settle.

Wunti stressed that under standard accounting practice, receivables and liabilities are recorded separately and should not be added together or interpreted as missing funds.

He said his review of the audited accounts found no factual basis to support claims that N210 trillion could not be accounted for.

The former NAPIMS boss was invited by the Senate committee to provide an independent assessment of the 2023 audited accounts because of his previous oversight of upstream investments within the national oil company.

Although he did not serve throughout the entire audit period, he noted that his tenure largely overlapped with the years under review.

Wunti also explained that NNPC Ltd.‘s financial reporting is more complex than that of a typical commercial company because it combines commercial operations with the management of the Federation’s oil and gas assets and responsibilities related to national energy security. These functions, he said, require separate accounting records under different reporting frameworks.

Reflecting on his time in office, Wunti maintained that no cases of fraud or missing funds were reported during his stewardship.

He also rejected claims that N5.8 billion was spent to register NNPC Ltd. after the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). According to him, the actual statutory payments made to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) totalled about N2.45 billion, with the higher figure resulting from accounting entries recorded across different financial books rather than additional payments.

Wunti urged greater collaboration among NNPC Ltd., the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation to improve public understanding of the company’s accounting structure.

He also called for a better appreciation of the Petroleum Industry Act and other legal provisions governing NNPC Ltd. to prevent similar misunderstandings.

Chairman of the Senate Committee, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, said lawmakers would examine Wunti’s submission alongside the audited financial statements before deciding whether further clarification would be required.