The transition from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has indeed sparked significant controversy in the Nigerian Senate. Recent reports and legislative inquiries in early 2026 have highlighted what lawmakers describe as “excessive” spending for what is effectively a corporate rebranding.
​The Senate Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Senator Aliyu Wadada Ahmed, revealed that approximately ₦5.9 billion was spent on “incorporation expenses” during the transition. The committee’s primary grievance is the apparent double-charging of this expense. ₦2.9 billion was paid from petroleum product proceeds. Another ₦2.9 billion was charged by NAPIMS (now NNPCL
Upstream Investment Limited) against crude oil revenue for the same purpose.
Lawmakers have questioned how a name change and corporate restructuring could justify such a massive price tag, labeling it “unacceptable” in the current economic climate.
​The rebranding cost is actually a smaller part of a much larger probe. The Senate has summoned former Group CEO Mele Kyari and other top officials to explain financial gaps totaling nearly ₦210 trillion found in audited statements from 2017 to 2023. These include ₦103 trillion in unexplained “accrued expenses.” ₦107 trillion in “sundry receivables” (money owed to the company by other entities that NNPCL has reportedly failed to clearly identify).
​The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has formally urged President Bola Tinubu to direct the EFCC and ICPC to investigate the ₦5.9 billion rebranding expenditure. They are pushing for Identification of the specific contractors who received the funds.
SERAP also wants Verification of whether the spending followed the Public Procurement Act. and recovery of any funds found to have been mismanaged or diverted.
