The Nigerian Senate on Thursday summoned the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, over an alleged N210 trillion expenditure by the national oil company between 2017 and 2023 that lawmakers say has not been properly accounted for.
Also invited by the Senate are the former Chief Financial Officer of the company, Umar Isa, and the former Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Bala Wunti.
The Senate committee handling the probe warned that it could issue warrants of arrest against the former management officials if they fail to appear before it on a date to be communicated.
The committee also queried the alleged expenditure of about N5 billion on the rebranding of the defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to the current NNPCL.
Chairman of the committee, Aliyu Wadada, who represents Nasarawa West, disclosed the panel’s resolutions while speaking with journalists.
He said the former management team is expected to appear before the committee alongside the incumbent Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari.
According to Wadada, the committee resolved that the oil company must account for the N210 trillion identified in the audit reports.
“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. The NNPCL should and must account for the two figures,” he said.
He further stated that the committee directed NNPCL to remit to the treasury all production costs charged against crude oil revenue for the period under review, noting that the company and its subsidiaries, including NAPIMS, do not directly produce crude oil.
The senator added that the former management team of NNPCL and NAPIMS must appear before the committee alongside the current management and the external auditors that served during the period under investigation.
Wadada also said the committee had asked the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation to conduct a forensic review of the company’s audited financial statements for the period under review in line with Section 85 of the 1999 Constitution.
He described the N5 billion reportedly spent on the name change of the corporation as unacceptable, stressing that the committee expects satisfactory explanations.
According to him, the resolutions followed the inability of NNPCL to provide convincing responses to 19 questions raised by lawmakers based on the audit report.
“NNPCL claimed the N103 trillion represented cumulative amounts expended by joint venture partners from JV cash calls since 2017. That response is unacceptable, and the figure of N103 trillion remains unresolved,” he said.
He added that the audited financial statement of NNPCL recorded N107 trillion as subsidy receivables and other sundry receivables allegedly owed by various banks and entities as of December 2023.
“When combined, NNPCL needs to properly account for N210 trillion,” Wadada stated.
Despite the concerns raised, the committee reaffirmed its support for the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, noting that the Federal Government remains committed to promoting transparency, probity and accountability in the management of public funds.
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