Business

NNPC Can’t Account For 107m Barrels Of Crude – Auditor-General

Published

4 years ago

March 16, 2022

The Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation says the defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, now Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, has failed to account for about 107,239,436 barrels of crude oil lifted for domestic consumption in 2019.
Making the allegation in its 2019 audit report presently being considered by the Committees on Public Accounts at the Senate and House of Representatives, NNPC said about 22,929.84 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, valued at N7.06billion and pumped to the two depots (Ibadan-Ilorin and Aba-Enugu) between June and July 2019 were not received by the depots.
These are part of the issues raised by the office in the six audit queries issued against the NNPC.
The report noted discrepancies between the amount reported by the NNPC as transfer to the Federations Account and what was reported by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
While the NNPC records showed that N1,272,606,864,000 was transferred by the corporation, the Accountant-General of the Federation said it was N608,710,292,773.44, leaving a gap of N663,896,567,227.58.
Consequently, the auditor-general said the Group Managing Director of the NNPC should be asked to explain the discrepancy between the two figures and remit the balanceof N663,896,567,227.58 to the Federations Account or face sanction.
According to the report, NNPC transferred the sum of N519,922,433,918.46 to the Federation Account based on transfer mandates.
The Auditor-General, therefore, demanded that the NNPC provides “reconciliation statement for the difference of N88,787,862,853.96 between AGF’s figure of N608,710,296,772.42 and NNPC’s figure per transfer mandate of N519,922,433,918.46.”
The office alleged possible diversion of domestic crude, diversion of sale of un-utilised crude as well as loss of Federation Account revenue, saying the management of the NNPC failed to respond to the audit query.
The report said, “The Group Managing Director of NNPC is requested to provide the complete schedule of allocation of Crude Oil to Refineries from 1st January to 31st December, 2019, furnish details of the sale of un-utilized crude oil and reconcile it with total domestic crude oil of 107,239,436.00 bbls lifted in 2019 and remit amount realised from sale of un-utilized crude oil to the Federation Account.”
Citing Section 162(1) of the 1999 Constitution, the Auditor-General said the NNPC spent $6.410m (N1.955tn at N305/$1) to fund Joint Venture Cash Calls and other federally-funded upstream projects such as gas infrastructure development, Brass LNG, crude oil pre-export inspection agency expenses, frontier exploration services, EGTL operating expenses and NESS fee; and another N55.157bn on pipeline security and maintenance without first paying the money into the Federations Account.
The OAuGF said the GMD of NNPC should justify non-adherence to the transfer of all federation revenue to the Federation Account as provided by the Constitution and ensure that all revenue is paid into the federation account, going forward.
The report further read, “The audit examination on ‘Schedule of Inflow of Revenue’ by NNPC to Federation Account obtained from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation revealed that the Domestic Gas Receipts of N4.572 billion was transferred to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT)-Gas in the month of January 2019, and was not made in the subsequent months of the year.
“This transfer reduced the amount due to Federation Account for the month of January, 2019 to the tune of N4.572 billion leading to possible reduction of distributable revenue in the Federation account, misapplication of funds and diversion of revenue.”
The office alleged that about 22,929.84 litres of PMS valued N7,056,137,180.00 pumped to two depots in the country in 2019 were not received by the depots, while no reason was advanced by the NNPC for the non-receipt of the product, demanding that the value of the products be remitted to the Federation Account.
239,800 bbls of crude oil valued at N5.498bn was received in Warri and Kaduna refineries, respectively, between January and December 2019, with the source of the crude not validated due to the absence of source documents, while money was allegedly classified as crude oil losses without duly completed form 146 to be processed for further investigation.

Business

AFAN Unveils Plans To Boost Food Production In 2026

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

The leadership of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has set the tone for the new year with a renewed focus on food security, unity and long-term growth of the agricultural sector.

The association announced that its General Assembly of Farmers Congress will take place from January 15 to 17, 2026 at the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industries, along Lugbe Airport Road, in the Federal Capital Territory.

The gathering is expected to bring together farmers, policymakers, investors and development partners to shape a fresh direction for Nigerian agriculture.

In a New Year address to members and stakeholders, AFAN president, Dr Farouk Rabiu Mudi, said the congress would provide a strategic forum for reviewing past challenges and outlining practical solutions for the future.

He explained that the event would serve as a rallying point for innovation, collaboration and economic renewal within the sector.

Mudi commended farmers across the country for their determination and hard work, despite years of insecurity, climate-related pressures and economic uncertainty.

According to him, their resilience has kept food production alive and positioned agriculture as a stabilising force in the national economy.

He noted that AFAN intends to build on this strength by resetting agribusiness operations to improve productivity and sustainability.

The AFAN leader appealed to government institutions, private investors and development organisations to deepen their engagement with the association.

He stressed the need for collective action to confront persistent issues such as insecurity in farming communities, climate impacts and market instability.

He also urged members to put aside internal disputes and personal interests, encouraging cooperation and shared responsibility in pursuit of national development.

Mudi outlined key priorities that include increasing food output, expanding support for farmers at the grassroots and strengthening local manufacturing through partnerships with both domestic and international investors adding that reducing dependence on imports remains critical to protecting the economy and creating jobs.

He stated that the upcoming congress will feature the launch of AFAN’s twenty-five-year agricultural mechanisation roadmap, alongside the announcement of new partnerships designed to accelerate growth across the value chain.

Participants, he said wi also have opportunities for networking and knowledge exchange aimed at transforming agriculture into a more competitive and technology-driven sector.

As part of its modernisation drive, AFAN is further encouraging members nationwide to enrol for the newly introduced Digital ID Card.

Mudi said the initiative will improve transparency, ensure proper farmer identification and make it easier to access support programmes and services.

Reaffirming the association’s long-term goal, he said the vision of national food sufficiency by 2030 remains achievable if unity and collaboration are sustained.

He expressed optimism that with collective effort, Nigeria’s agricultural sector can overcome its challenges and deliver a more secure and prosperous future.

Lady Usendi

Business

Industrialism, Agriculture To End Food Imports, ex-AfDB Adviser Tells FG

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

Former Senior Special Adviser on Industrialisation to the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Professor Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, has urged the Nigerian government to urgently industrialise the agricultural sector as a pathway to food security, economic diversification, and sustainable job creation.

Professor Oyelaran-Oyeyinka made the call while speaking at the Oyo State Economic Summit held at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, during a lecture titled “Industrialising Agriculture for Economic Development and Food Security: Enhancing National Economies and Sub-National Entities.”

He cautioned that despite Nigeria’s vast arable land and its position as a leading global producer of crops such as cassava and yams, the country remains food-deficient and heavily dependent on costly food imports.

He highlighted that Nigeria spends over one trillion naira annually importing wheat, rice, sugar, and fish, a persistent trend that drains foreign exchange, undermines local farmers, weakens industrial competitiveness, and fuels unemployment.

The development economist argued that the solution lay in transforming agriculture from a subsistence activity into a modern, industrial enterprise capable of producing surplus, supporting manufacturing, and driving broad-based economic growth.

He explained that industrialising agriculture does not mean replacing rural communities with factories, but rather empowering farmers with technology, skills, infrastructure, and market access to raise productivity and incomes.

According to Professor Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, Nigeria’s low agricultural productivity reflected deeper structural challenges, including weak education systems, limited skills, and inadequate investment in technology and infrastructure.

He noted that countries that successfully transitioned from low-income to middle-income status did so by modernising agriculture alongside industrial development, creating strong linkages between farms, processing industries, and markets.

Oyelaran-Oyeyinka highlighted stark yield disparities between Africa and Asia, noting that cereal yields across African countries remain less than a third of those achieved in East Asia.

This gap, he said, explains why African economies struggle to compete globally and why industrialisation efforts have stalled.

Professor Oyelaran-Oyeyinka outlined key pillars of agricultural industrialisation, including mechanisation, value addition, integrated supply chains, access to finance, improved seed systems, and targeted investment in human and technological capabilities.

He stressed that farms must be treated as “factories without roofs,” capable of feeding into agro-processing, manufacturing, and export industries.

The visiting professor at The Open University in Milton Keynes said the economic benefits of such a transformation would be far-reaching, including reduced dependence on oil, large-scale job creation, significant foreign exchange savings, and stronger national food security.

Drawing lessons from Vietnam, he described how deliberate agricultural modernisation helped transform the Southeast Asian country from a food importer into one of the world’s leading exporters of rice, coffee, cashew, and seafood.

Vietnam’s agribusiness exports, he said, now generate tens of billions of dollars annually and underpin the country’s wider industrial success.

He attributed Vietnam’s success to consistent policies, heavy investment in agro-processing, strong farmer–industry linkages, and the use of special economic zones to drive value addition and export competitiveness.

Oyelaran-Oyeyinka noted that similar models are emerging in Nigeria, including in Oyo State, but warned that they require reliable infrastructure, policy stability, and empowered governance to succeed.

The professor called on state governments to prioritise power, roads, and logistics, strengthen agricultural extension services, and create efficient special agro-industrial processing zones that attract major domestic and international investors.

He also urged the private sector to view agriculture as a profitable business frontier rather than a social obligation, noting that Nigeria’s future prosperity depended less on oil and more on harnessing the productive potential of its land and people.

“We are a nation that can feed itself and others, yet we remain food-insecure and overly dependent on imports. This paradox is holding back our economy.”

“Industrialising agriculture does not erase our rural roots; it transforms them into engines of productivity, wealth creation and national development.”

“Subsistence agriculture is both a cause and a consequence of technological backwardness, and no country has reached middle-income status without first modernising its agriculture.”

“A farm must be treated as a factory without a roof, connected to processing, logistics, finance and markets. Vietnam shows that agricultural transformation is not accidental; it is the result of deliberate policies that link farmers to industry and global markets.”

“The seeds of Nigeria’s prosperity are not buried in oil wells; they are sown in the fertile soils of our ecological zones,” he said.

Lady Usendi

Business

Cashew Industry Can Generate $10bn Annually- Association

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

The President of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Dr Ojo Ajanaku, has said Nigeria could earn $10 billion annually from cashew production, with $3 billion coming from cashew sales alone.

Ajanaku made this known during a press conference organised ahead of the 4th National Cashew Day, scheduled to hold from Jan. 22 to Jan. 24 in Abuja, with the the theme: “Unlocking the Full Potential of Nigeria’s Cashew Industry”.

He said that poor export documentation and weak repatriation of proceeds were causing major losses to the Nigerian economy.

“A substantial volume of cashew exported from Nigeria leaves the country without proper export proceeds forms, as exporters allegedly avoid bringing earnings back into the country,” he said.

He said during the last export season alone, Nigeria reportedly exported over 400,000 tonnes of cashew valued at about $700 million.

Ajanaku noted that deliberate investments in production and processing could unlock far greater potentials.

“If Nigeria produces just two million tonnes of cashew annually, which is achievable in less than five years, and sells at an average of $1,500 per tonne, the country would earn about $3 billion yearly,” he said.

He added that beyond raw cashew exports, enormous value lies in processing and by-products such as Cashew Nut Shell Fluid (CNSF) and cashew cake, which are largely wasted locally.

“In Vietnam, cashew cake alone sells for about 95 cents per kilogram, while in Nigeria processors pay to dispose of it as waste,” he noted.

Ajanaku explained that full local processing of cashew and its by-products could generate not less than $10 billion annually for Nigeria while creating thousands of jobs across the value chain.

He stressed that Nigeria has the production capacity, while countries like Vietnam possess advanced processing technology.

The NCAN President further disclosed that the association is strengthening partnerships with key government institutions, including the Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, NEXIM Bank, and other agencies to reposition the sector.

He added that a landmark Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Nigeria and Vietnam to facilitate technology transfer and deepen cooperation in cashew processing.

He expressed optimism that with sustained government support and effective regulation, the cashew industry could become a major driver of economic growth, foreign exchange earnings, and industrial development in Nigeria.

“Producing states should be given priority. For example, Kogi State, which has the highest cashew production in the country, has no factory. A lot of potentials can come from Kogi State for the country,” he said.

Also speaking, NCAN National Secretary, Augustine Edieme, said strategic plans are being made to showcase Nigeria’s potentials during the 4th National Cashew Day, which he described as a key opportunity to attract bigger investments and investors into the industry.

“We are not just talking about the cashew seeds. We need to crack the fruit shell and discover the value in cashew shells. Industrialisation of the cashew industry is key to driving the Nigerian economy,” he said.

The representative of the Federation of Agricultural Commodity Associations of Nigeria (FACAN), Sunday Ojonugwa, pledged that FACAN would optimally support the cashew association to ensure the sector reaches its full potential.

Lady Usendi