The Senate on Thursday summoned the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, to appear before its committee over an alleged N210tn expenditure recorded by the national oil firm between 2017 and 2023 which lawmakers say remains inadequately explained.
Also invited by the panel are the former Chief Financial Officer of the company, Umar Isa, and the former Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, Bala Wunti.
The Senate committee warned that it may issue warrants of arrest against the former management officials should they fail to honour the invitation on the date to be communicated.
Lawmakers also raised concerns over the reported expenditure of about N5bn for the transition from the defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
Chairman of the committee, Aliyu Wadada, who represents Nasarawa West Senatorial District, disclosed the panel’s resolutions while addressing journalists in Abuja.
He said the former management team must appear before the committee alongside the current Group Chief Executive Officer of the company, Bayo Ojulari.
According to Wadada, the committee resolved that the oil firm should refund the sum of N210tn, comprising N103tn and N107tn, which the audit report indicated were not properly accounted for.
“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 company must account for the two figures,” he said.
The lawmaker further stated that the committee directed the company to remit all production costs deducted from crude oil revenue to the Federal Government treasury for the period under review.
He argued that the company and its subsidiaries, including the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, do not directly engage in crude oil production.
Wadada added that the former management of the company and NAPIMS including Kyari, Isa and Wunti must appear before the committee alongside the present management and external auditors who served during the period being examined.
He also disclosed that the committee recommended a forensic audit of the company’s financial statements.
According to him, the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation should conduct a comprehensive forensic review of the audited accounts of the oil company for the period under investigation in line with Section 85 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended).
The senator described the reported N5bn spent on the company’s rebranding as unacceptable, stressing that the committee expected satisfactory explanations.
Wadada explained that the resolutions were reached after the company allegedly failed to provide convincing responses to 19 questions raised by lawmakers based on the audit report.
He noted that the company had claimed the N103tn represented cumulative spending by joint venture partners through JV cash calls from 2017.
However, the committee rejected the explanation, insisting that the figure remained unresolved.
He added that the company’s audited financial statement also listed N107tn as subsidy receivables recorded as sundry receivables as of December 2023, allegedly owed by several banks and other entities.
According to the lawmaker, when both figures are combined, the national oil company must provide a clear explanation for the N210tn in question.