The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has ordered the arrest of former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, over his failure to appear before the committee investigating an alleged unaccounted N210 trillion between 2017 and 2023.
The decision was taken on Wednesday after Kyari failed to attend the committee’s investigative hearing into the alleged financial discrepancy.
Meanwhile, former Chief Financial Officer of NNPCL, Umar Ajiya Isa, dismissed the allegation, insisting that no funds were missing and arguing that the figure being cited far exceeds the company’s total earnings during the period under review.
The committee’s decision followed a debate among lawmakers after some senators informed members that Kyari was reportedly undergoing medical treatment in Germany.
Senators Saliu Mustapha and Tony Nwoye urged the committee to grant Kyari another opportunity to appear before lawmakers. However, several members opposed the suggestion, insisting that the investigation should not be delayed further.
Senator Abdul Ningi argued that verbal claims of illness should not be accepted without documentary evidence, while Senator Victor Umeh moved a motion calling for Kyari’s arrest.
The motion was seconded by the committee’s deputy chairman, Senator Peter Nwaebonyi, who maintained that further delays would hinder the committee’s work.
“This is the ninth time this committee is meeting on the 19 queries raised against the NNPCL by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, three of which were chaired by me,” Nwaebonyi said.
“Mr Chairman, the time to issue a warrant of arrest against Mele Kyari is now because the committee must conclude its assignment and report back to the Senate.”
Following a voice vote, committee chairman Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo ruled in favour of the motion.
“Wherever Mele Kyari is, he should be arrested and brought before this committee,” Dankwambo declared.
Responding to the allegation of missing funds, Ajiya strongly denied any wrongdoing during his tenure at NNPCL.
“To be clear, if money had gone missing at NNPC during our tenure, we would not have had the courage to publish audited accounts. For over 40 years, those accounts were either not prepared, not made public, or not even shared with the Auditor-General.
“N210 trillion is an enormous sum. NNPC’s total revenue during the period under review was about N54.5 trillion, even before deducting production costs. It is impossible for N210 trillion to be missing or unaccounted for,” Ajiya said.
He also rejected allegations that N5.8 billion was spent on the registration of NNPC Limited, describing the claim as inaccurate and harmful.
Ajiya urged the committee to verify the matter with the Corporate Affairs Commission and the Federal Inland Revenue Service, now known as the Nigeria Revenue Service.
“Unfounded claims do real damage. They harm the reputations of individuals, the company and Nigeria itself. International rating agencies use public information to assess countries. Negative, inaccurate reports can hurt Nigeria’s credit rating and our national interests,” he said.
He further cited the disruption of Chinese financing for the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano Gas Pipeline project as an example of how unverified allegations can negatively affect national development efforts.
“When people claim N210 trillion is missing, they should be asked: where exactly did it go? Agencies like the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and the EFCC should investigate and establish the facts so Nigerians can trust the truth,” he added.
As part of its ongoing investigation, the committee directed Ajiya and former Chief Upstream Investment Officer, Bala Wunti, to return before lawmakers in two weeks for further questioning.
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