Olayiwola Matthew
The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has summoned a former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, to explain an alleged N210 trillion that was not properly accounted for between 2017 and 2023.
Kyari was summoned alongside a former Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajia Isa, and former Group General Manager of National Petroleum Investment Management Services, Bala Wunti.
Chairman of the Committee, Senator Aliyu Wadada, issued the summons on Thursday following a review of audit reports concerning the national oil company.
The Committee also warned that it could issue warrants of arrest against the former officials if they failed to appear before it, on a date to be communicated soon.
Wadada disclosed the committee’s resolutions while briefing the media after its meeting.
According to him, the former management team is expected to appear before the committee alongside the current leadership of the NNPCL, led by the incumbent GCEO, Bayo Ojulari, as well as external auditors who worked with the company during the period under review.
The chairman also stated that the committee resolved that the NNPCL must account for the N210 trillion flagged in audit reports, comprising N103 trillion and N107 trillion that were allegedly not properly explained in the company’s financial records.
He noted that the committee had asked NNPCL 19 questions arising from the audit findings last year, but was not satisfied with the responses provided.
According to the senator, the company claimed that the N103 trillion represented cumulative spending by its joint venture partners through JV cash calls since 2017, a response the committee rejected.
The committee also raised concerns about N107 trillion recorded as “sundry receivables” in NNPCL’s audited financial statements as of December 2023, which the company said was owed by several banks and other entities.
“When the two figures are combined, NNPCL needs to properly account for N210 trillion,” it said.
The lawmakers also questioned the expenditure of N5 billion reportedly used to change the company’s name from the former Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
“This to us in the committee is unacceptable, and satisfactory explanations must be given,” they added.
In another resolution, the committee directed the NNPCL to refund to the treasury all production costs charged against crude oil revenue within the period under review, arguing that the company and its subsidiaries do not directly produce crude oil.
The committee also recommended that the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation conduct a forensic audit of NNPCL’s financial statements for the period in line with Section 85 of the 1999 Constitution.
Kyari led the national oil company from 2019 to 2025.
