The Senate Committee on Public Accounts, on Wednesday, ordered the arrest of the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, over his failure to appear before it in connection with an alleged unaccounted ₦210 trillion between 2017 and 2023.
The committee is probing audit queries raised against the NNPCL by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, covering the period under review.
Naijaonpoint understands that Kyari’s absence from the investigative hearing triggered a heated debate among members of the committee, with some senators asking that he be given another opportunity to appear, while others insisted that the committee could no longer continue to wait for him.
Senators Saliu Mustapha, representing Kwara Central, and Tony Nwoye, representing Anambra North, had appealed to the committee chairman, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, representing Gombe North, to give Kyari another chance to honour the invitation.
They argued that the former NNPCL boss was reportedly receiving medical treatment in Germany and should be allowed more time to appear before the panel.
However, other members of the committee opposed the suggestion, saying the claim of ill health should not be accepted without proper documentary evidence.
Senator Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi Central, said verbal excuses were not enough to justify Kyari’s continued absence from the committee’s sittings.
He was supported by Senator Victor Umeh, representing Anambra Central, who moved the motion for the committee to issue a warrant of arrest against the former NNPCL boss.
Seconding the motion, the Deputy Chairman of the committee, Senator Peter Nwaebonyi, representing Ebonyi North, said giving Kyari another opportunity to appear would amount to “a wild goose chase.”
“This is the ninth time this committee is meeting on the 19 queries raised against the NNPCL by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, three of which were chaired by me,” Nwaebonyi said.
“Mr Chairman, the time to issue a warrant of arrest against Mele Kyari is now because the committee must conclude its assignment and report back to the Senate.”
After putting the motion to a voice vote, Dankwambo declared that Kyari should be arrested and brought before the committee.
“Wherever Mele Kyari is, he should be arrested and brought before this committee,” he said.
Meanwhile, a former Chief Financial Officer of the NNPCL, Umar Ajiya Isa, dismissed the allegation that N210tn was missing or unaccounted for under the company’s former management.
Appearing before the committee, Ajiya said the claim was not only false but also impossible, given the total revenue recorded by the company within the period under review.
According to him, the ₦210 trillion figure was far higher than the ₦54.5 trillion total revenue generated by the NNPCL between 2017 and 2023.
“To be clear, if money had gone missing at NNPC during our tenure, we would not have had the courage to publish audited accounts. For over 40 years, those accounts were either not prepared, not made public, or not even shared with the Auditor-General.
“₦210 trillion is an enormous sum. NNPC’s total revenue during the period under review was about ₦54.5 trillion, even before deducting production costs. It is impossible for ₦210 trillion to be missing or unaccounted for,” Ajiya said.
He also faulted the claim that ₦5.8 billion was spent to register NNPC Limited, describing the allegation as “untrue and damaging.”
Ajiya urged the committee to verify the claim with the Corporate Affairs Commission and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), now known as the Nigeria Revenue Service.
The former NNPCL CFO warned that unverified allegations against the national oil company could damage the reputation of individuals, the company and the country.
He said such claims could also affect Nigeria’s standing before international financial institutions and rating agencies.
“Unfounded claims do real damage. They harm the reputations of individuals, the company and Nigeria itself. International rating agencies use public information to assess countries. Negative, inaccurate reports can hurt Nigeria’s credit rating and our national interests,” he said.
Ajiya cited the disruption of Chinese financing for the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano Gas Pipeline as an example of how allegations and petitions could affect major national projects.
He said the financing arrangement was disrupted because of what he described as “an unpatriotic petition.”
