Former NNPCL MD, Mele Kyari
Senate Committee on Public Accounts has ordered the arrest of former Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, over allegations of unaccounted funds linked to the company’s operations between 2017 and 2023.
The directive was issued after Kyari failed to appear before the committee investigating 19 audit queries raised by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation.
Some lawmakers urged the committee to grant him another opportunity to appear, citing reports that he was undergoing medical treatment in Germany.
However, several members opposed the request, insisting that any claim of illness should be backed by official medical records.
Senator Abdul Ningi argued that verbal explanations were insufficient, while Senator Victor Umeh moved a motion for the issuance of a warrant of arrest.
Supporting the motion, Deputy Chairman of the committee, Senator Peter Nwaebonyi, said: “This is the ninth time this committee is meeting on the 19 queries raised against NNPCL by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation. I personally chaired three of these sessions.
“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,” he said.
Following a voice vote, the committee adopted the motion and Chairman Ibrahim Dankwambo directed security agencies to arrest Kyari and bring him before the panel.
Meanwhile, former NNPCL Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajiya Isa, dismissed claims that ₦210 trillion was missing, stating that the company generated about ₦54.5 trillion during the period under review.
“To be clear, if money had gone missing at NNPC during our tenure, we would not have had the confidence to publish audited accounts. For more than 40 years, those accounts were either not prepared, not published, or not submitted to the Auditor-General.
“₦210 trillion is an enormous amount. NNPC’s total revenue during the period under review was about ₦54.5 trillion, even before deducting production costs. It is therefore impossible for ₦210 trillion to be missing or unaccounted for,” he said.
