No fewer than 14 officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), including two former chief executives, Mele Kyari and Abubakar Yar’Adua, are currently under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged misappropriation of funds and abuse of office, a letter addressed to the NNPCL has shown.
The investigation centers around the $2.896 billion allocated for refinery rehabilitation projects under their tenure, Port Harcourt Refinery: $1.56 billion, Kaduna Refinery $740.6 million and Warri Refinery $656.9 million, reports Channels TV.
Some of the key findings include discovery of a large sum of money in the accounts of one of the sacked managing directors, totalling about N80 billion, sparking further investigation and leading to the arrest of the recently sacked managing directors of all three refineries.
The investigation has raised concerns about the management of NNPCL and the refineries, with some experts questioning the transparency and effectiveness of the company’s operations.
In a letter dated April 28, 2025, addressed to the Group Managing Director of the firm, NNPCL, the EFCC requested a certified true copy of the emoluments and allowances of the affected persons, both former and current employees.
The letter, titled “Investigation Activities Request for Information,” with reference number CR:3000/EFCC/ABJ/HQ/SDC.2/NNPC/VOL.1/698, read in part, “The Commission is investigating a case of Abuse of Office and Misappropriation of Funds in which the under-listed officials of your organisation featured.
“In view of the above, you are kindly requested to furnish certified true copies of their emoluments and allowances, including that of those who have retired and no longer work with your organisation.
The affected persons listed by the EFCC include a former Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kolo Kyari; Ibrahim Onoja; Mustapha Magaji Sugungun; Abubakar Lawal Yar’Adua; Isiaka Abdulrazak; Umar Ajiya; Dikko Ahmed; and Ademoye Adeniyi Jelili.
Others are Kayode Olusegun Adetokunbo, Efiok Michael Akpan, Jimoh Olasunkanmi, Bello Kankaya, and Desmond Inyama.
EFCC Confirms Probe
The investigation is linked to the funds allocated for rehabilitating the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited, Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, and Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company.
EFCC’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, confirmed to our correspondent that a probe is ongoing.
He, however, did not disclose further details.
“There are ongoing investigations into the funds released for the rehabilitation of the Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt refineries,” Oyewale said in a terse statement sent to our correspondent.
Kyari’s Removal, NNPCL Forensic Audit
President Bola Tinubu approved the reconstitution of the NNPCL Limited board on April 2, removing the Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure, and the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mallam Mele Kyari.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu removed all other board members appointed with Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.
The new 11-man board has Engineer Bashir Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Kida as Non-Executive Chairman.
Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Ajiya as the chief financial officer last November, was appointed to the new board by President Tinubu. Six board members, non-executive directors, represent the country’s geopolitical zones.
The president, invoking the powers granted under Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, emphasised that the board’s restructuring was crucial for enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, boosting local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialisation and diversification.
He also gave the new board an immediate action plan to conduct a strategic portfolio review of NNPC-operated and joint venture assets to ensure alignment with value maximisation objectives.
The Tinubu administration has since 2023 implemented oil sector reforms to attract investment.
Last year, the oil firm reported $17 billion in new investments within the sector.
The administration envisions increasing the investment to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030 and aims to raise oil production to two million barrels daily by 2027 and three million daily by 2030.
Twenty-two days later, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, announced that a forensic audit of the national oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum, would soon commence.
While speaking at the Nigerian Investor Forum, which held on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank spring meetings in Washington, DC, in April, the speaker explained that the recent rejigging of the management of the NNPCL was part of the cleansing the federal government had taken to audit the company.
