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Senate Threatens Arrest Warrant for Kyari, Others over N210trn NNPCL Spending
• Summons ex-NNPCL officials to explain audit queries
•Questions N5bn spent on change of name from NNPC to NNPCL
Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
Senate has threatened to issue a warrant of arrest against the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, and two other former top officials of the company if they fail to appear before its Committee on Public Accounts to explain alleged unaccounted expenditure of N210 trillion.
Equally summoned by the committee were former Chief Financial Officer of the company, Umar Ajia Isa, and former Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Dr. Bala Wunti.
The committee said the former officials must appear before it alongside the current management of the company to respond to audit queries relating to the financial activities of the national oil company between 2017 and 2023.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Aliyu Wadada Ahmed (Nasarawa West), disclosed the summons while briefing journalists on the outcome of the panel’s meeting held in Abuja on Thursday.
Wadada said the committee would not hesitate to invoke its constitutional powers to compel the appearance of the former officials if they failed to honour the summons.
He explained that the committee decided to invite the former management team following concerns raised in audit reports indicating that a combined sum of N210 trillion reflected in the accounts of the company had not been properly explained.
According to him, the committee resolved that the former management team of the company should appear before it and be led by the current Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, together with all the external auditors that handled the company’s accounts within the period under review.
He said the committee also directed the company to provide detailed explanations regarding the figures contained in the audit report.
Wadada said, “The NNPCL should refund the sum of N210 trillion, being the combined figure 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 added that the committee had also resolved the company should remit to the treasury all production costs charged against crude oil revenues during the period under review.
He said the committee questioned the basis for charging such costs against crude oil revenue, stating that the former Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries, including NAPIMS, were not directly involved in crude oil production.
Wadada further disclosed that the committee had directed Auditor-General of the Federation to carry out a forensic audit review of the audited financial statements of the company for the period under investigation.
He said the directive was issued in line with Section 85 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empowers the Auditor-General to examine the accounts of public institutions.
The committee also raised concerns over the reported expenditure of N5 billion by the national oil company on the transition of its name from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
“This, to us in the committee, is unacceptable and satisfactory, explanations must be given,” Wadada said.
According to him, the committee arrived at its resolutions after the company failed to provide satisfactory responses to 19 queries raised from its audited financial statements.
He explained that in its response to one of the queries, the company stated the N103 trillion represented cumulative amounts expended by its Joint Venture partners through cash calls since 2017.
However, the committee rejected the explanation.
Wadada stated, “NNPCL responded that the N103 trillion represented cumulative amounts expended by NNPCL Joint Venture partners from JV cash calls since 2017. This response is unacceptable and the figure of N103 trillion is still hanging and must be properly explained.”
Wadada also said the company’s audited financial statement showed that subsidy-related receivables stood at N107 trillion as of December 2023.
He said the amount was recorded as sundry receivables, which the company claimed was owed by some banks and other entities.
“When the N103 trillion and N107 trillion are put together, the NNPCL needs to properly account for the total sum of N210 trillion,” he added.
Despite the concerns raised during the review, the committee affirmed its support for the transparency and accountability drive of the administration of President Bola Tinubu, stating that the National Assembly would continue to exercise its oversight responsibilities to ensure prudent management of public funds.
