The Senate has summoned the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, to appear before its investigative committee over an alleged N210tn expenditure by the state-owned oil firm between 2017 and 2023 which lawmakers say remains inadequately explained.
Also invited to appear before the panel are the company’s former Chief Financial Officer, Umar Isa, and the erstwhile Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, Bala Wunti.
The committee warned that failure by the former top officials to honour the invitation could result in the issuance of arrest warrants against them.
Lawmakers further queried the reported N5bn expenditure linked to the transition from the defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to the present Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
Chairman of the committee, Aliyu Wadada, who represents Nasarawa West Senatorial District, disclosed the resolutions of the panel while briefing journalists after the session.
He stated that the former management team is expected to appear before the committee alongside the current Group Chief Executive Officer of the oil company, Bayo Ojulari.
According to Wadada, the committee directed the company to account for a total sum of N210tn, comprising N103tn and N107tn which the audit report allegedly indicated were not properly explained.
He added that the company must remit all production costs deducted from crude oil earnings to the Federal Government’s treasury for the period under investigation.
The lawmaker explained that the directive was based on the position that the oil firm and its subsidiaries, including the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, do not directly engage in crude oil production activities.
Wadada further stated that the former management team of the oil company and NAPIMS including Kyari, Isa and Wunti must appear before the panel alongside the present leadership of the firm and the external auditors who handled its accounts during the period under review.
He also disclosed that the committee recommended that the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation undertake a forensic examination of the company’s audited financial statements in line with provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended).
The senator described the N5bn reportedly spent on the organisation’s name change as questionable, noting that the committee expects a detailed explanation.
Wadada explained that the panel arrived at its resolutions after the oil company allegedly failed to give satisfactory responses to 19 issues raised by lawmakers from the audit findings.
He said the company had earlier argued that the N103tn represented cumulative expenditures by joint venture partners through JV cash calls since 2017.
However, the committee maintained that the explanation was insufficient and that the figure remained unresolved.
He also pointed out that the company’s audited financial records listed N107tn as subsidy-related receivables recorded as sundry receivables as of December 2023, allegedly owed by several financial institutions and other entities.
According to him, when both figures are combined, the oil firm must provide a clear and comprehensive explanation for the N210tn queried by the Senate.
