The Senate Committee on Public Accounts on Wednesday ordered the arrest of former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, over his failure to appear before lawmakers investigating N210 trillion flagged in the company’s audited financial statements from 2017 to 2023.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, ruled that “Anywhere Mele Kyari is, he should be arrested and brought before this committee”. The directive followed Kyari’s repeated absence from hearings probing queries raised by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation. Senators were told Kyari was ill and receiving treatment in Germany, but the majority rejected verbal excuses without documented proof. Senator Victor Umeh moved the motion for arrest, seconded by Deputy Chairman Peter Nwaebonyi.
At the center of the probe is N210 trillion said to be “unaccounted for” in NNPCL’s accounts. The committee said the sum comprises N103 trillion recorded as “accrued expenses” and N107 trillion listed as “sundry receivables”. NNPC’s former Chief Financial Officer, Umar Isa, disputed the figure, telling lawmakers it was “mathematically inconsistent” with the company’s revenue of about N54.5 trillion in the period. “It’s impossible for ₦210 trillion to be missing or unaccounted for,” Isa said.
The committee rejected NNPC’s written explanations. On Video reference, Chairman Aliyu Wadada said the company claimed N103 trillion was spent on cash calls to joint ventures in 2023, despite the cash call system being abolished in 2016. He added that N107 trillion in receivables “contradicts available facts”. “As far as this committee is concerned, that figure is unjustifiable… The ₦103 trillion must be returned to the Treasury,” Wadada said.
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