The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has summoned former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, to explain an alleged ₦210 trillion that was reportedly not properly accounted for between 2017 and 2023.
Kyari was summoned alongside the company’s former Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajia Isa, and a former Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, Bala Wunti.
Chairman of the committee, Aliyu Wadada, issued the summons following a review of audit reports concerning the operations of the national oil company. The committee also warned that it could issue warrants of arrest against the former officials if they fail to appear before it on a date to be communicated.
Wadada disclosed the committee’s resolutions while briefing journalists after its meeting in Nigeria. He said the former management team is expected to appear before the committee alongside the current leadership of the NNPCL, led by the incumbent Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, as well as external auditors who worked with the company during the period under review.
According to the committee chairman, the Senate panel resolved that the NNPCL must account for the ₦210 trillion flagged in audit reports. The figure reportedly comprises ₦103 trillion and ₦107 trillion that were allegedly not properly explained in the company’s financial records.
Wadada added that the committee had previously raised 19 queries with the NNPCL last year based on the audit findings but expressed dissatisfaction with the responses provided by the company at the time.