Senate summons ex-NNPC boss Kyari over N210tn audit queries

The Senate on Thursday summoned the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, over an alleged N210tn expenditure by the national oil company between 2017 and 2023, which the lawmakers say has not been properly accounted for.

Invited alongside Kyari are the former Chief Financial Officer, Umar Isa, and the former Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, Bala Wunti.

The Senate committee handling the probe threatened to 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 questioned why the national oil company allegedly spent about N5bn on the change of name from the defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to the Nigerian NNPC Limited.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Aliyu Wadada (Nasarawa West), read the resolutions to journalists. He said the summoned former management team should appear before the panel.

They are to come alongside the incumbent Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari.

Wadada stated: “NNPCL should refund the sum of N210tn, being the combined sum of N103tn and N107tn, which were not properly accounted for as contained in the audit reports. The NNPCL should and must account for the two figures.

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

“Thirdly, 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 appear before the committee and be led by the present management along with the external auditors that served within the period under review.

“Fourthly, 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 that the committee considered the N5bn expenditure on the corporation’s name change unacceptable, adding that “Satisfactory explanations must be given.”

According to Wadada, the resolutions followed the inability of NNPCL to provide satisfactory responses to 19 questions raised by lawmakers from the audit report.

“NNPCL, in response, claimed the N103tn represented cumulative amounts expended by NNPCL Joint Venture partners from JV Cash Calls 2017. That response is unacceptable, and the figure of N103 trillion remains unresolved.

“The subsidy receivables, according to the audited financial statement of NNPCL, stood at N107tn. As of December 2023, NNPCL recorded N107tn as sundry receivables, some allegedly owed by different banks and other entities. When combined, NNPCL needs to properly account for N210tn,” he explained.

Despite the concerns, the committee reaffirmed its support for the administration of President Bola Tinubu, noting that the Federal Government remained committed to promoting transparency, probity, and accountability in the management of public funds.(Punch)