The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is once again facing public outrage over alleged financial discrepancies—this time concerning N210 trillion reportedly missing from its audited financial records covering 2017 to 2023.

The issue came to light last Wednesday during a Senate Committee on Public Accounts session, chaired by Senator Aliyu Wadada. The committee gave NNPCL a one-week deadline to explain the whereabouts of the missing funds.

According to reports, NNPCL’s Chief Financial Officer, Adedapo Segun, attributed the missing amount to cash call payments and settlements to joint venture (JV) partners. However, critics say this explanation is insufficient.

Public skepticism remains high, with many fearing the investigation will go the way of past probes—fading away without accountability. For example, a similar issue arose in June 2024 when the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) filed a lawsuit over N500 billion unremitted funds. Many of such investigations in recent years have yielded no results.

Transparency International Nigeria's Country Director, Auwal Rafsanjani, has called for serious consequences for anyone found guilty of mismanaging public funds.

He blamed successive presidents—including Tinubu, Buhari, and Obasanjo—for doubling as petroleum ministers, arguing that this has made the NNPCL a tool for corruption. He described the state oil company as an “ATM” for government officials since 1999, with little transparency or public benefit.

“There’s a long-standing culture of impunity within NNPCL,” Rafsanjani said. “The lack of consequences has emboldened corruption. Unless this changes, we’ll keep seeing scandals like this with no justice.”

He called for a proper system of governance that can hold officials accountable and ensure those involved in the N210 trillion saga face prosecution.

Echoing these concerns, energy lawyer and public interest advocate, Barrister Ameh Madaki, expressed doubts that the investigation will lead to meaningful outcomes.

Madaki criticized the recurring secrecy in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, noting that such scandals are routinely forgotten. “This has become the norm,” he said. “Every major scandal disappears when the next one surfaces.”

He added that the government’s failure to act decisively has eroded public confidence: “At this point, it’s hard to expect anything concrete from this investigation.”