Nigeria’s Senate has summoned the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, over an alleged ₦210 trillion expenditure by the national oil company between 2017 and 2023 that lawmakers say has not been properly accounted for.
Also invited to appear before the Senate committee are the former Chief Financial Officer of the company, Umar Isa, and a former Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Bala Wunti.
The committee warned that it may issue a warrant of arrest against the former officials if they fail to honour the invitation once the date for their appearance is communicated.
The resolutions were reached during a committee meeting held on Thursday, March 5, where lawmakers also questioned the company’s reported ₦5 billion expenditure on the rebranding that transformed the defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation into the current NNPCL structure.
Chairman of the committee, Aliyu Wadada Ahmed, announced the panel’s resolutions while briefing journalists after the meeting. He said the former management team must appear alongside the incumbent Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari.
According to Wadada, the company is required to provide detailed explanations regarding financial figures highlighted in audit reports covering the period under review.
He said the committee resolved that NNPCL must account for ₦210 trillion — a figure derived from ₦103 trillion and ₦107 trillion cited in the audit reports — which lawmakers believe have not been adequately explained.
“The NNPCL should refund the sum of ₦210 trillion, being the combined sum of ₦103 trillion and ₦107 trillion which were not properly accounted for as contained in the audit reports,” the senator said.
The committee further directed the company to remit to the treasury all production costs charged against crude oil revenue within the same period. Wadada noted that the NNPC and its subsidiaries, including NAPIMS, do not directly produce crude oil and therefore must justify such deductions.
Lawmakers also instructed the former management of NNPCL and NAPIMS to appear before the committee together with the current management and all external auditors that served the organisation during the years under investigation.
In addition, the panel recommended that the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation conduct a forensic review of the company’s audited financial statements for the period in question in line with Section 85 of the 1999 Constitution.
Wadada said the committee arrived at its resolutions after NNPCL failed to provide satisfactory answers to 19 queries raised by lawmakers based on the audit reports.
He explained that the company had stated that the ₦103 trillion represented cumulative spending by its joint venture partners through JV cash calls since 2017. However, the committee said the explanation was unacceptable.
The senator also pointed to ₦107 trillion listed as subsidy-related receivables in the company’s audited financial statements. According to him, as of December 2023, NNPCL recorded the amount as sundry receivables allegedly owed by banks and other entities.
“When put together, NNPCL needs to properly account for ₦210 trillion,” he said.
Despite the concerns raised, the committee reaffirmed its support for the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, stating that the Federal Government remains committed to strengthening transparency, accountability and prudent management of public funds and national resources.
