Senate Summons Mele Kyari, Others Over Alleged ₦210 Trillion NNPCL Spending

The Senate on Thursday summoned the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, alongside the former Chief Financial Officer, Umar Isa, and a former Group General Manager of National Petroleum Investment Management Services, Bala Wunti, over an alleged ₦210 trillion expenditure by the national oil company between 2017 and 2023 which lawmakers say has not been properly accounted for.

The Senate committee conducting the probe also threatened to issue a warrant of arrest against the former top management officials if they fail to honour the invitation when the date for their appearance is communicated.

The lawmakers also queried the company’s alleged ₦5 billion expenditure on the rebranding exercise that changed the name of the defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

The resolutions to summon the former management team were taken during a committee meeting held on Thursday, March 5.

Chairman of the committee, Aliyu Wadada Ahmed, who represents Nasarawa West, read the panel’s resolutions to journalists after the meeting.

He said the summoned officials must appear before the committee alongside the incumbent Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari.

Explaining the resolutions reached by the committee, Wadada said the oil company must provide detailed explanations regarding the funds highlighted in audit reports covering the period under review.

“NNPCL should refund the sum of ₦210 trillion, being the combined sum of ₦103tn and ₦107tn, which were not properly accounted for as contained in the audit reports. The NNPCL should and must account for the two figures,” he said.

He added that the committee also resolved that the company must remit to the treasury all production costs charged against crude oil revenue within the same period.

“The second resolution of the committee is that the NNPCL should refund to treasury all production costs charged against crude oil revenue for the period under review, since the NNPC and its subsidiaries, NAPIMS and others, do not directly produce crude oil,” he said.

The committee further directed the former management team of NNPCL and NAPIMS to appear before the panel alongside the current management and external auditors that served during the years under investigation.

“Thirdly, that the immediate past management of NNPCL and NAPIMS, which includes Mele Kyari as the then GCEO, Umar Ajia Isa as the then CFO and Bala Wunti as the then GGM, NAPIMS, should and must appear before the committee and be led by the present management with the entire body of the external auditors that served within the period under review,” Wadada said.

The committee also 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.

“Fourthly, that the Auditor General for the Federation should carry out a forensic audit review of the audited financial statements of NNPCL for the period under review in line with section 85 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended),” he added.

Wadada said the committee arrived at the resolutions after the national oil company failed to provide satisfactory answers to 19 questions raised by lawmakers from the audit report.

He explained that NNPCL had claimed that the ₦103tn figure represented cumulative expenditure by its joint venture partners through JV cash calls since 2017.

“NNPCL, as a result of the questions that we asked, responded that the ₦103 trillion represented cumulative amounts expended by NNPCL Joint Venture Partners from JV Cash Calls 2017. For that, this response is unacceptable, and the figure of ₦103tn is still lingering and hanging on NNPC,” he said.

The senator also pointed to another ₦107tn listed as subsidy-related receivables in the company’s audited financial statements.

“The subsidy receivables, according to the audited financial statement of NNPCL, stood at ₦107tn. As of December 2023, NNPCL recorded ₦107 trillion as sundry receivables, of which it claims part was owed by some different banks and other entities. When put together, NNPCL need to properly account for ₦210tn,” he explained.

Despite the concerns raised, the committee reaffirmed its support for the administration of Bola Tinubu. The lawmakers noted that the Federal Government remained committed to strengthening transparency, probity and accountability in the management of public funds and national resources.