The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has summoned the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, over an alleged N210 trillion that the company is said to have failed to properly account for between 2017 and 2023.
Also summoned by the committee are the former Chief Financial Officer of the company, Umar Ajia Isa, and the former Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, Dr. Bala Wunti.
The committee, chaired by Senator Aliyu Wadada, representing Nasarawa West, issued the summons on Thursday after reviewing several audit queries linked to the financial records of the national oil company.
Wadada warned that the committee may issue a warrant of arrest against the former management officials if they fail to appear before the panel on the date that will be communicated to them.
He explained that the former executives are expected to appear alongside the current management of the NNPCL, led by the Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, as well as the external auditors who handled the company’s accounts during the period under investigation.
Speaking with journalists after the committee’s meeting, Wadada said the panel had directed the NNPCL to account for the combined sum of N210 trillion, made up of N103 trillion and N107 trillion, which were flagged in audit reports.
“NNPCL should refund the sum of N210 trillion, being the combined sum of N103 trillion and N107 trillion, which were not properly accounted for as contained in the audit reports. NNPCL should and must account for the two figures,” he said.
The committee also directed the company to remit to the national treasury all production costs charged against crude oil revenue during the period under review. According to the panel, the NNPC and its subsidiaries, including NAPIMS, do not directly produce crude oil.
Wadada said the committee arrived at its resolutions after the NNPCL failed to provide satisfactory responses to 19 audit queries raised against the company.
He explained that the N103 trillion was said by the company to represent cumulative expenditures by joint venture partners from JV cash calls between 2017 and 2023. However, the committee described the explanation as unsatisfactory.
According to him, the company also recorded N107 trillion as subsidy receivables and sundry debts in its audited financial statements as of December 2023, which it claimed were owed by several banks and other entities.
“When put together, NNPCL needs to properly account for the N210 trillion,” Wadada stated.
The committee further questioned the expenditure of N5 billion reportedly used to facilitate the change of the company’s name from the 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,” the lawmaker said.
In addition, the committee directed the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation to conduct a forensic audit of the company’s financial statements for the period under review in line with Section 85 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended).
Despite the concerns raised, the committee reaffirmed its support for the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, noting that the government remains committed to promoting transparency, accountability and probity in the management of public funds.
