Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has spent N193.4 billion on local and foreign trips in the last 16 months. Contained in its 2022 audited report, the company’s travel expenses were N146.9 billion higher than the budget of the Ministry of Transportation, which stood at N46.5 billion in the 2024 Appropriation Act.
Besides, the combined budget of the Ministry of Transportation and that of Marine and Blue Economy, which equals N57.5 billion in the 2024 budget, is a fragment of the NNPCL’s expenses. The Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy’s allocation is N11 billion.
The revelation comes at a time when the nation is struggling financially and the masses are facing rising poverty, high cost of food items and others.
The bill is about N177.4 billion higher than the N16 billion travelling expenditure of the Nigerian Presidency, comprising offices of the President and Vice President, captured in the 2024 budget.
NNPCL, in the audited report that saw the limited liability company aiming to go public, declared profit of N2.5 trillion, spent about N6.5 billion on phone calls and postage services.
It had last month released its first audited report that covered the period after restructuring, which showed that the oil company has significantly moved from loss making to profit, with an exponential N2.52 trillion ($2.7 trillion). (Guardian)
