News
Nigerian Government to Hire External Auditor for N2.7 Trillion Fuel Subsidy Review
The Nigerian government has unveiled plans to hire an external auditor to review the N2.7 trillion fuel subsidy claims made by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
The goal is to assist the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAuGF) in determining the actual amount owed by the government to NNPCL for fuel subsidies.
According to official records, a forensic audit will focus on NNPCL’s claims from 2015 to 2021.
It aims to verify the N2.7 trillion withheld by NNPCL, with the Director of Home Finance stating that the OAuGF is still working on the matter.
Additionally, the Ministry of Finance’s Procurement Department has already put measures in place to hire an external auditor, who will support the OAuGF in conducting the review.
In the same meeting, the Chairman of the Commissioners’ Forum and Head of Finance from Ekiti State recommended that the audit period be extended to December 2023, given that the audit process has yet to begin.
This suggestion followed the initial proposal to launch the audit four months earlier during the Federation Allocation Accounts Committee’s April 2024 meeting.
Initially, NNPCL claimed that the government owed a total of N6 trillion for fuel subsidies. However, this amount was reduced to N2.7 trillion after a previous audit conducted by KPMG.
The forthcoming audit will cover six years to ensure accuracy and transparency in reconciling the subsidy claims.
This latest development follows the “subsidy is gone” declaration made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 30, 2023.
Shortly after this announcement, NNPCL’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, informed reporters that the Federal Government still owed the company N2.8 trillion in outstanding subsidy payments.
According to Kyari, NNPCL has been covering the cost of petrol subsidies through its cash flow, as the government has been unable to make payments.
He highlighted that despite budgetary provisions of N6 trillion in 2022 and N3.7 trillion in 2023 for fuel subsidies, the Federal Government has not made any payments to NNPCL.
The company has had to absorb the cost, which is now an unsustainable financial burden.
Kyari emphasized that the government still owes NNPCL around N2.8 trillion and that the company cannot continue to carry the financial strain of the subsidy regime much longer.
The decision to engage an external auditor is seen as a crucial step towards resolving these financial discrepancies and determining the accurate amount of subsidy claims owed to NNPCL.
The audit is expected to shed light on the actual amount of debt and could potentially influence future subsidy policies and financial arrangements between NNPCL and the government.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has reportedly declared a strike at Taraba State University over outstanding salary-related demands and delays in payments.
The strike is scheduled to begin today, October 12, 2026. According to the union’s chairman, the union had been engaging the Taraba State Government over its outstanding demands since February 2026.
“The union had exercised considerable patience and demonstrated its commitment to dialogue since February 2026, when it began engaging the Taraba State Government over the outstanding issues,” Mbave said.
“The union had earlier suspended its planned industrial action following an appeal by the government for additional time through the Office of the Head of Civil Service, in the interest of maintaining industrial harmony,” the chairman added.
The Chairman of Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State, Torseer Yina, has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the ancient town.
The curfew takes effect from Thursday, October 8, 2026, following unrest and violent protests in the area.
According to reports, the action was taken to contain the unrest and violent protests by members of BEMOA following the death of one of its members by unknown gunmen.
The protest, which was reportedly hijacked by hoodlums, turned violent after an angry mob burnt two vehicles belonging to the Benue State Civil Protection Guards.
The Gboko council chairman said the curfew takes effect immediately and warned that anyone caught flouting the order or breaching public peace would be decisively dealt with.
Nine people have died in a fatal road crash along the Ijebu-Ode-Benin Expressway in Ogun State.
The crash occurred on Monday at about 4:55pm around the Bethel area along the Ijebu-Ode/Ore axis of the expressway. It involved a white Toyota Hiace commercial bus belonging to Delta Line and a white Sino truck operated by Bill Gas Solution Ltd.
According to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), all nine people involved in the crash, comprising three males and six females, died in the incident.
The FRSC said the crash occurred while it was raining and the road was wet, with preliminary investigations identifying speed violation as the probable cause.
The FRSC rescue team arrived at the scene shortly after receiving the report, while the bodies of the victims were taken to the General Hospital Morgue in Ijebu-Ode.
The Ogun State Sector Commander, Oludare Ogunjobi, urged motorists, especially commercial drivers, to obey speed limits and exercise extra caution when driving in the rain.
Judge Tells Duane Davis He Must Face Justice for Tupac’s Murder
Timini Egbuson Reflects on Embracing YouTube Movies in Nollywood
