Questions mount over the huge amount recorded as receivables from the Federation as critics demand details of payments, beneficiaries and work done to secure Nigeria’s oil assets.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, is facing mounting scrutiny over #11.2 trillion recorded as receivables from the Federation in its 2025 audited accounts, with calls growing for a detailed breakdown of the money linked to protecting Nigeria’s oil and gas infrastructure.

 The figure has triggered questions over how much was actually spent on pipeline surveillance, who received the funds and what results were achieved.

The controversy followed the release of NNPCL’s 2025 financial statements, which showed that the company’s profit after tax rose by 33 per cent to ₦7.2 trillion, from ₦5.4 trillion in 2024, while revenue fell to ₦34.5 trillion. The accounts listed ₦11.2 trillion under other receivables from the Federation, covering advances to the government and costs incurred in protecting the country’s oil and gas assets under an approved arrangement with the Federal Government.

However, the accounts do not establish that NNPCL spent a fresh ₦11.2 trillion solely on pipeline security during 2025.

 The financial statements said no new energy-security expense was recognized in 2025, compared with ₦7.13 trillion in 2024, after an ₦8.67 trillion energy-security receivable was reconciled against royalties, taxes and dividends owed to the Federation. 

The reconciliation was completed in September 2025.

Despite the accounting distinction, the size of the receivables has fuelled demands for greater transparency, particularly amid Nigeria’s economic pressures and persistent oil theft and pipeline vandalism. 

Former Vice President and ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has demanded a detailed account of the ₦11.2 trillion, asking NNPCL to disclose how much was spent on pipeline surveillance, who was paid, what services were provided and the results achieved.

The scrutiny comes as NNPCL says its security arrangements have helped improve oil production. The company previously said its integrated security programme contributed to crude production recovering from about 960,000 barrels per day in 2022 to an average of 1.71 million barrels per day in 2025.

 Its latest accounts also reported crude oil and condensate production reaching a five-year high of 1.77 million barrels per day.

For Nigerians, the central question is now less about the headline figure alone and more about what exactly makes up the ₦11.2 trillion, where the money went and what value it delivered. 

With the accounts showing that the amount represents receivables rather than a straightforward ₦11.2 trillion cash payment for pipeline surveillance, calls for a clearer breakdown are likely to keep the issue in the spotlight.