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 ₦210 trillion that was not properly accounted for between 2017 and 2023.
Kyari was called together with Umar Ajia Isa, a former chief financial officer, and Bala Wunti, a former group general manager of National Petroleum Investment Management Services.
Senator Aliyu Wadada, the Committee’s chairman, issued the summons on Thursday after reviewing audit papers pertaining to the national oil corporation.
Additionally, the committee threatened to issue arrest warrants for the former officials if they did not come before it on a date that would be announced shortly.
Wadada disclosed the committee’s resolutions while briefing the media after its meeting.
He states that the current NNPCL leadership, headed by the current GCEO, Bayo Ojulari, as well as external auditors who were employed by the business during the period under examination, are anticipated to come before the committee alongside the former management team.
‘Sundry Receivables’
Additionally, according to the chairman, the committee decided that the NNPCL should be held accountable for the ₦210 trillion identified in audit reports, which included ₦103 trillion and ₦107 trillion that were purportedly improperly explained in the company’s financial records.
He mentioned that the committee was dissatisfied with the answers given to the NNPCL 19 queries it had posed in response to the audit results last year.
The committee disputed the company’s allegation that the ₦103 trillion represented the total amount spent by its joint venture partners through JV cash calls since 2017, according to the senator.
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Concerns regarding ₦107 trillion listed as “sundry receivables” in NNPCL’s audited financial records as of December 2023, which the business claimed was due by many banks, were also voiced by the committee.
“When the two figures are combined, NNPCL needs to properly account for ₦210 trillion,” it said.
‘Explanations Must Be Given’
The lawmakers also questioned the alleged expenditure of ₦5 billion to rename the business from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to Nigerian National Petroleum business Limited.
“This to us in the committee is unacceptable, and satisfactory explanations must be given,” they added.
In a different resolution, the committee stated that the NNPCL and its subsidiaries do not directly produce crude oil and ordered the business to reimburse the government for all production expenditures assessed against crude oil earnings during the review period.
In accordance with Section 85 of the 1999 Constitution, the committee also suggested that the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation perform a forensic audit of NNPCL’s financial statements for the relevant time.
Kyari led the national oil company from 2019 to 2025.
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