By Achile Danjuma
The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has summoned the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, to answer questions regarding an alleged N210 trillion in unaccounted funds.
The summons, issued on Thursday, also extends to the former Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajia Isa, and the former Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Dr. Bala Wunti. The committee is investigating financial records of the national oil company between 2017 and 2023.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Aliyu Wadada (Nasarawa West), announced that a warrant of arrest would be issued against the former management team should they fail to appear on a date to be communicated. They are expected to appear alongside the current NNPCL management, led by Group CEO Engr. Bayo Ojulari, and the external auditors who oversaw the company’s books during the review period.
Speaking to journalists after the session, Senator Wadada outlined the committee’s resolutions, directing the NNPCL to provide a clear account of a staggering N210 trillion. This sum is derived from two separate figures identified in audit reports: N103 trillion and N107 trillion.
“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,” Wadada stated. “NNPCL should and must account for the two figures.”
According to the committee, the company’s explanation that the N103 trillion represented cumulative expenditures by joint venture partners on cash calls was deemed “unacceptable.”
Furthermore, the committee flagged an additional N107 trillion recorded as “subsidy receivables and sundry debts” in the company’s audited financial statements as of December 2023, which the NNPCL claimed were owed by various banks and other entities.
“When put together, NNPCL needs to properly account for the N210 trillion,” the Chairman added.
In a separate but related query, the committee also demanded explanations for the expenditure of N5 billion reportedly used to facilitate the company’s transition from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
“This, to us in the committee, is unacceptable and satisfactory explanations must be given,” Wadada said.
The committee has directed the company to remit to the Treasury all production costs charged against crude oil revenue for the period under review, noting that neither the NNPCL nor its subsidiaries are direct crude oil producers.
To ensure accountability, Senator Wadada directed 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 (as amended).
Despite the serious allegations, the committee reaffirmed its support for the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, acknowledging the government’s commitment to promoting transparency, accountability, and probity in the management of public funds.