By Emmanuel Thomas
ABUJA — The Senate, through its Committee on Public Accounts, has dramatically escalated its investigation into the management of Nigeria’s oil revenues by ordering the immediate arrest of the former Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Malam Mele Kyari.
The legislative directive followed Kyari’s failure to appear before the apex upper chamber’s audit panel to answer 19 separate queries raised by the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation.
The audit queries highlight unresolved financial entries, variations, and discrepancies valued at a staggering N210 trillion, spanning the national oil company’s operations between 2017 and 2023.
The decision to issue the warrant of arrest followed a heated session chaired by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo (Gombe North). Lawmakers expressed deep frustration over what they described as a calculated pattern of evasion by the former oil czar, who has reportedly ignored up to nine consecutive invitations extended by the legislative panel.
The motion to compel Kyari’s appearance via an arrest warrant was moved by Senator Victor Umeh (Anambra Central) and seconded by the committee’s Deputy Chairman, Senator Peter Nwebonyi (Ebonyi North).
Following a unanimous voice vote in support of the motion, Chairman Dankwambo formally declared, “Wherever Mele Kyari is, he should be arrested and brought before this committee.”
Efforts by some lawmakers, including Senators Saliu Mustapha (Kwara Central) and Tony Nwoye (Anambra North), to appeal for leniency on the grounds that Kyari was currently in Germany receiving medical treatment were robustly rejected by the majority of the committee.
Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) argued that verbal excuses regarding health could not be sustained without formal, verifiable documentary evidence submitted to the parliament.
Contributing fiercely to the debate, former Edo State Governor and Senator for Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, urged the panel to fully assert its constitutional mandate. Oshiomhole lamented that public officials could not treat billions of dollars in unaccounted revenue as a light matter while the nation grapples with severe economic hardship and mounting foreign debts.
The Counter-Argument: “No Funds Missing”
Appearing before the committee on the same day, the former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the NNPCL, Umar Ajiya Isa, mounted a vigorous defense of the state-owned firm’s financial history under their management. Ajiya flatly debunked the narrative that N210 trillion had vanished from the company’s coffers, calling the allegation fundamentally flawed and misleading to the public.
”There is no money missing,” Ajiya stated emphatically before the panel. He explained that the eye-popping N210 trillion figure cited in the audit query was an aggregate sum that actually exceeds the N54.5 trillion total gross revenue generated by the NNPCL during the entire 2017–2023 period under review.
According to the former CFO, the figures causing friction are largely internal accounting adjustments and entries involving different subsidiaries within the complex NNPCL corporate structure, which were incorrectly interpreted by external observers as missing cash.
Ajiya argued that the company had shown unprecedented transparency by publishing its audited financial statements for the first time in 40 years, an exercise that would not have been attempted if massive fraud was being concealed.
The multi-trillion naira dispute dates back to the transition phase of the national oil company from a state corporation to a commercialized limited liability entity under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). Kyari, who spearheaded this historic transition, was removed from his position as NNPCL GCEO by President Bola Tinubu following a wave of transparency petitions and structural reorganizations.
The probe gained momentum when details of the NNPCL’s historical audited records attracted intense parliamentary scrutiny. Initial red flags raised by the Auditor-General’s office prompted the Senate to issue ultimatums for full disclosure.
In earlier corporate correspondences, NNPCL officials had attempted to clarify that portions of the trillions in question represented long-term accrued expenses and inter-agency receivables rather than unaccounted cash losses.
However, the Senate’s insistence on a face-to-face cross-examination of Mele Kyari underscores a rigid stance by the National Assembly to ensure full oversight of the oil sector, which remains the primary lifeblood of the Nigerian economy.
With the formal order of arrest issued to security agencies, the phase of administrative letters has ended, setting the stage for a high-stakes legal and political showdown between the red chamber and the former executives of the country’s most powerful state enterprise.
The NNPCL Defense: Former CFO Umar Ajiya insists the N210trn figure is a misinterpretation of internal accounting entries, pointing out it exceeds total gross revenues (N54.5trn) for the period.
The Senate Public Accounts Committee has given other key figures attached to the probe, including former Chief Upstream Investment Officer Bala Wunti, a two-week window to study the formal audit documents and return for subsequent questioning.
