The Senate, through its Committee on Public Accounts, on Wednesday ordered the arrest of the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, for failing to appear before it over an alleged unaccounted N210 trillion between 2017 and 2023.
However, former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the NNPCL, Umar Ajiya Isa, debunked the allegation before the committee, stating that no money was missing and that the N210 trillion figure exceeds the N54.5 trillion in total revenue the company generated during the period.
The warrant of arrest followed Kyari’s absence from the investigative session on the alleged unaccounted N210 trillion.
Senators Saliu Mustapha (Kwara Central) and Tony Nwoye (Anambra North) told the committee chairman, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe North), that Kyari should be given another opportunity to appear, as he was reportedly receiving medical treatment in Germany.
However, other members opposed the suggestion and called on the chairman to issue a warrant for his arrest.
Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) said verbal excuses should not be accepted without documented evidence of illness. He was supported by Senator Victor Umeh (Anambra Central), who moved the motion for Kyari’s arrest.
Seconding the motion, Deputy Chairman of the committee, Senator Peter Nwaebonyi (Ebonyi North), said giving Kyari another chance would amount to “a wild goose chase.”
“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.”
Dankwambo, after putting the motion to a voice vote, declared: “Wherever Mele Kyari is, he should be arrested and brought before this committee.”
Ajiya rejected the allegation of an unaccounted N210 trillion in his submission.
“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. N210 trillion can’t be missing or unaccounted for,” Ajiya said.
He also faulted claims that N5.8 billion was used to register NNPC Limited, describing them as “untrue and damaging.”
Ajiya urged the committee to verify the claim with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), now 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.
Ajiya cited the disruption of Chinese financing for the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano Gas Pipeline due to “an unpatriotic petition” as an example of how such claims can affect national projects.
“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.
In continuation of the investigation, the committee directed Ajiya and Bala Wunti, who served as Chief Upstream Investment Officer during the period under review, to reappear before it in two weeks.
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