ABUJA – Drama unfolded at the National Assembly on Wednesday as the Senate Committee on Public Accounts ordered the arrest of former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, for repeatedly failing to appear before lawmakers probing alleged discrepancies of N210 trillion in the oil giant’s accounts.
The committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwabo (Gombe North), directed security agencies to arrest and produce Kyari before it, declaring that the panel had run out of patience after several unsuccessful attempts to secure his appearance.
The order came despite appeals by some senators who informed the committee that the former NNPCL boss was reportedly undergoing medical treatment in Germany.
Senators Saliu Mustapha (Kwara Central) and Tony Nwoye (Anambra North) urged the committee to exercise restraint and grant Kyari another opportunity to honour its invitation.
However, Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) insisted that any claim of ill health must be supported with documentary evidence.
“There must be documented proof of his illness. Verbal excuses should not be enough,” Ningi said.
The committee’s Deputy Chairman, Senator Peter Nwaebonyi (Ebonyi North), backed a motion for Kyari’s arrest, lamenting what he described as a prolonged delay in the investigation.
“This is the ninth time this committee is meeting on the 19 audit queries raised against NNPCL. The time to issue a warrant of arrest against Mele Kyari is now. The committee must conclude its assignment and report back to the Senate,” Nwaebonyi declared.
Following a voice vote, Dankwabo ruled in favour of the motion.
“Anywhere Mele Kyari is, he should be arrested and brought before this committee,” the chairman ordered.
But while the Senate intensified pressure on the former NNPCL chief, ex-Chief Financial Officer of the company, Umar Ajiya Isa, dismissed claims that N210 trillion was missing from the corporation’s books, describing the allegation as impossible.
Ajiya told lawmakers that NNPCL generated about N54.5 trillion in total revenue between 2017 and 2023, making allegations of a missing N210 trillion mathematically impossible.
“To be clear, if money had gone missing at NNPC during our tenure, we would not have had the courage to publish audited accounts,” he said.
“For more than 40 years, those accounts were either not prepared, not published or not submitted to the Auditor-General. We changed that.”
The former CFO stressed that the figure being bandied around exceeded the company’s total earnings for the period under review.
“N210 trillion is an enormous amount. NNPC’s total revenue during the period under review was about N54.5 trillion even before production costs were deducted. It is therefore impossible for N210 trillion to be missing or unaccounted for,” he said.
Ajiya also denied allegations that N5.8 billion was spent on registering NNPC Limited, describing the claim as false and urging the committee to verify the facts with the Corporate Affairs Commission and the Nigeria Revenue Service.
He warned that unsubstantiated allegations could damage Nigeria’s international reputation and undermine investor confidence.
Accoding to him, similar allegations in the past disrupted efforts to secure about $2.5 billion financing for the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline project despite a sovereign guarantee by the Federal Government.
“When people say N210 trillion is missing, they should be asked where exactly the money went. Agencies such as the NFIU and EFCC should investigate and establish the facts so Nigerians can trust the truth,” he said.
At the end of the hearing, the committee directed Ajiya and former Chief Upstream Investment Officer of NNPCL, Bala Wunti, to return in two weeks as the probe into the 19 audit queries continues.
This version follows a punchy Sun-style tabloid approach, leading with the arrest order and the controversy over the alleged N210 trillion discrepancy.
