THE Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited ignored its cash challenges to duadruple expenditure on entertainment to N30.34 billion in 2024. The national oil company also spent nearly N700 billion as professional and consultancy fees over the year.

According to the national oil company’s 2024 financial statement, the expenditure on entertainment rose from N7.439 billion in 2023 to N30.343 billion in 2024, marking more than 4 times the amount expended in 2023. Similarly, the NNPCL engaged consultants to carry out several assignments and paid them a whopping N669.665 billion in 2024 as against N184.201 billion fee received by the professionals in 2023. This indicates a 279 percent increase over the year, signifying nearly 4 times the amount spent on consultants in 2023.

The expenditure on these items have been flayed by financial experts who say the national oil company is still not managing the national assets properly. They refer to the increase in travels’ expenditure by 106 percent to N91.562 billion in 2024 from N44.290 billion in 2023, saying the NNPC must get its act together. What marvels experts is that ‘travels and transport’ is categorised differently from ‘fuel and lubricants,’ which gulped another N27.404 billion in 2024.

Also, directors’ fees and expenses rose 58 percent to N4.096 billion from N2.593 billion in 2023.

Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the NNPCL, Mr Andy Odeh, did not respond to the text messages sent to him, including a WhatsApp prompt, regarding why these expenditures jumped over 1 year.

NNPC financial recklessness

The NNPC has, over the years, been financially reckless, particularly in the way it manages its refineries. It spent $1.5 billion on Port Harcourt repairs, yet the refinery isn’t producing petrol at all. In fact, the NNPC Limited under former Group Managing Director, Mr Mele Kyari, spent nearly $3 billion on the rehabilitation of Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries, but none of them is working at the moment.

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Between 2017 and 2020, Port Harcourt refinery incurred N241.609 billion in comprehensive losses, while its revenue merely stood at merely N6.27 billion. Despite not making revenues in 2020, the NNPC-owned refinery employed 487 new staff and paid N23 billion in salary without producing oil.

In 2019, the refinery recorded zero revenues but reported N25.19 billion in expenses. It also paid N22.195 billion in salaries, allowances, pensions and allowances.

Similarly, Kaduna refinery’s revenues stood at N2.278 billion between 2017 and 2019 but losses were estimated at N241.527 billion. In 2018, the refinery made no profits but spent N317.50 billion on transport and travels. From 2017 to 2019, Kaduna refinery spent N443.421 billion on transport and travels.

The story is the same for Warri refinery, which incurred comprehensive losses totalling N188.436 billion between 2019 and 2019. Despite these poor financial results, Warri refinery directors raised their earnings from N270.090 million in 2018 to N332.137 million in 2019, having pocketed N353.019 million as remuneration in 2017.

Economy Post had earlier reported that the NNPC spent N16.7 trillion (approximately N17 trillion) on the turnaround maintenance of the nation’s three refineries between 2002 and 2022.

Subsidiaries debts

The debt owed by NNPC subsidiaries in 2024 reached N30.30 trillion from N17.78 trillion in 2023, marking a 70.4 percent increase over a one-year period.

Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited posted inter-company debts of N4.22 trillion in 2024, higher than N2 trillion in 2023. Similarly, Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited’s financial obligations rose to N2.39 trillion in 2024 from N1.36 trillion a year earlier, while the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited’s debt reached N2.06 trillion, up from N1.17 trillion in 2023.

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The NNPC Group Managing Director, Mr Bayo Ojulari, had said in August 2025 that it was seeking to engage reputable and credible operations and maintenance companies to run Warri and Kaduna refineries. But this hasn’t happened.

A Lagos-based economist, Mr Ozie Ahigbe, said the NNPC chief should hurry up and fulfill the promise to stop the bleeding of the national wealth.

“This should have been done 15 years ago,” he said. “Had this happened 15 or 20 years ago, they would have saved Nigeria of several trillions of naira and the nation would have moved on by now.

“It is just a total waste of time to allow these refineries to remain in the hands of the government. Why did they spend $1.5 billion on Port Harcourt refinery, which is not working? Why must they spend another $1.5 billion on Kaduna and Warri refineries which are still not producing petroleum products? Why not hand over these refineries to the private sector to save the nation from this total waste of money and bleeding?” he asked.