In a bombshell revelation that has sent shockwaves through Nigeria\u2019s corridors of power, Ola Olukoyede, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has disclosed that a preliminary probe into the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has uncovered staggering levels of corruption.<\/p>\n
Speaking Wednesday at the National Conference on Public Accounts and Fiscal Governance in Abuja, Olukoyede said early findings from a sweeping investigation into the country\u2019s oil and gas sector have revealed \u201cmind-boggling\u201d financial malfeasance \u2014 despite the fact that investigators have only just scratched the surface.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the last three weeks, we launched a commission-wide investigation into the extractive industry, particularly oil and gas. What we\u2019ve discovered is shocking,\u201d Olukoyede told lawmakers. \u201cWe\u2019ve only opened the books. If this is what\u2019s at the surface, imagine what\u2019s buried beneath.\u201d<\/p>\n
The EFCC probe comes just months after President Bola Tinubu ousted Mele Kyari, the longtime Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, and replaced him with Bashir Ojulari amid mounting concerns over transparency in the state-owned oil firm. Kyari had led NNPCL since 2019.<\/p>\n
Olukoyede made it clear that the corruption plaguing NNPCL is symptomatic of deeper, systemic failures in Nigeria\u2019s fiscal governance. He linked the mismanagement of public funds directly to the country\u2019s worsening security crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a very strong connection between the mismanagement of our national resources and the insecurity plaguing this country,\u201d he warned. \u201cFrom banditry to terrorism, when you trace the roots, you often find a trail of stolen public funds.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Plea for Reform<\/strong><\/p>\n One of Olukoyede\u2019s most urgent appeals was directed at the National Assembly: pass the long-delayed Unexplained Wealth Bill. The legislation would empower law enforcement to seize assets whose owners cannot credibly justify how they were acquired.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been begging for the past year,\u201d he said, visibly frustrated. \u201cThe last Assembly threw it out. But if we don\u2019t start holding individuals accountable for assets that don\u2019t match their known income, we\u2019ll never fix this country.\u201d<\/p>\n Illustrating the absurdity of the current legal framework, he cited an example of a civil servant with five luxury properties\u2014two in Maitama and three in Asokoro\u2014despite decades of modest public service salaries. \u201cWe\u2019re told to prove a predicate offence before we can act. That is absurd,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Chasing Nigeria\u2019s Stolen Wealth Across the Globe<\/strong><\/p>\n Olukoyede revealed that the EFCC is actively tracking illicit assets across several continents, including countries not typically associated with Nigerian capital flight.<\/p>\n \u201cLast month alone, I visited four or five countries chasing stolen assets. An ambassador even told me they found an entire estate in Iceland owned by a Nigerian. Iceland, of all places!\u201d he exclaimed.<\/p>\n But the global trail of looted funds has exposed another challenge: reluctance by foreign governments to return stolen Nigerian assets. \u201cThere\u2019s no anti-corruption agency on Earth that can recover even half of what has been looted from this country,\u201d Olukoyede admitted. \u201cForeign custodians don\u2019t want to let go. Under international law, they\u2019re just as guilty as the original thieves.\u201d<\/p>\n A Culture of Impunity<\/strong><\/p>\n Beyond the oil sector, Olukoyede lamented a broader culture of impunity in Nigeria\u2019s public service, where individuals under investigation or trial for corruption are still being celebrated \u2014 even glorified.<\/p>\n \u201cWe present evidence. We show you where the money went. We\u2019re already in court. Yet these people are being praised like heroes,\u201d he said. \u201cDoes that suggest we\u2019re serious about fighting corruption?\u201d<\/p>\n He also pointed to more than 700 federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) still operating without adequate internal controls. \u201cHow many books can you check? How many files will you read?\u201d he asked lawmakers. \u201cWe need systems that proactively prevent corruption before it happens.\u201d<\/p>\n According to internal EFCC data, 90 percent of all stolen public funds in a given year are funneled abroad \u2014 money that could otherwise fund hospitals, schools, and infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n \u201cNigeria has no business borrowing money to survive,\u201d Olukoyede said. \u201cNot with the kind of wealth we have \u2014 in people, in natural resources. But without accountability, we\u2019re wasting our future.\u201d<\/p>\n In a stark warning to the political class, Olukoyede said this administration may represent the country\u2019s last chance to right the ship. He called on leaders across party lines to put aside divisions and face corruption head-on.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we execute even 60 percent of our capital budget efficiently in 2025 and 2026, we will transform this country. We\u2019ll empower small businesses, build infrastructure, and stabilize the economy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not about politics. This is about rescuing the soul of Nigeria.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a bombshell revelation that has sent shockwaves through Nigeria\u2019s corridors of power, Ola Olukoyede, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has disclosed that a preliminary probe into the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has uncovered staggering levels of corruption. Speaking Wednesday at the National Conference on Public Accounts and Fiscal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":94213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7],"tags":[7197,188,6623],"class_list":["post-94396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","category-news","tag-mind-boggling","tag-nnpc","tag-olukoyede"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=94396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/94213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=94396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=94396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=94396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}