N210trn audit queries: Senate issues arrest warrant on Mele Kyari

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has issued a warrant of arrest on former Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, over his alleged repeated refusal to honour the committee’s summons.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the committee had invited leadership of NNPCL to appear before it to respond to audit queries involving a cumulative sum of N210 trillion spanning 2017 to 2023.

NAN also reports that the audit queries emanated from the audit report of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation on expenditures of MDAs from 2017 to 2023.

The public accounts committee had said that the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, was expected to lead the delegation.

Other officials listed to appear included Kyari, former Chief Financial Officer Umar Ajia, Bala Wunti and the company’s external auditors.

However, at the resumed hearing of the committee on Wednesday, Kyari was absent, a development that infuriated the lawmakers.

Sen. Victor Umeh, who moved the motion to issue warrant of arrest, said Kyari’s attitude showed that he was not taking the committee serious.

 “Kyari should be here; we cannot wait for him to appear before us at his convenience.

 “It is a national emergency that Mele Kyari should cut short his trip anywhere in the world and return home.

 “He should come before this committee to answer the questions put by the auditor-general for the federation against NNPCL.

 “So if I am to say, I will say that this committee should issue a warrant of arrest against Kyari.

 “We are talking about trillions of naira. The country is not faring well. If we have access to these funds, we will not be in this financial challenge.

 “He must come and explain what has happened to these funds. So I so move that he should be issued a warrant of arrest,” Umeh said.

However, Sen. Tony Nwoye said that Kyari had spoken to him, assuring him that he would appear at the resumed hearing of the committee.

Nwoye said that the current information available to him indicated that Kyari was currently hospitalised at a hospital in Germany.

 “I spoke to Mele Kyari; that was a week ago; he promised that he would be here.

 “But incidentally, I learnt last night that the man is hospitalised in Germany; yes, he is in hospital in Germany,” the senator said.

Sen. Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, who attempted to shut down Nwoye from further making remarks, said that his colleague, Nwoye, was not the lawyer representing Kyari and as such, had no right to defend his absence.

He noted that Kyari had ignored summons by the committee for nine consecutive times.

Nwaebonyi consequently seconded Umeh’s motion, saying that a warrant of arrest should be issued on the former NNPCL GCEO.

Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo north, backed the motion and urged the committee to enforce its authority.

“Some people believe they are bigger than Nigeria. The law must be effective when it catches the lion, not only when it catches the rabbit,” Oshiomhole said.

The senator said the parliament risked diminishing its authority if it failed to compel compliance with its summons.

“This committee must have the courage and the will to deploy its powers and issue a warrant of arrest — not tomorrow, but today,” he said.

“Bring Mele Kyari here, dead or alive. Even if he is dead, we want to see the body, and he will account.

“These are allegations involving trillions of naira at a time Nigerians are suffering, and the country is borrowing heavily. His responsibility is to account for his actions as MD. He can’t be represented in that capacity.

“Mele Kyari can’t be represented. He is no longer the MD. Having failed repeatedly, we must invoke our powers to order the arrest of Mele Kyari.”

Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Ibrahim Dankambo, consequently affirmed the motion, following a unanimous voice vote by members of the committee on the motion.

Meanwhile, a former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Umar Ajiya, says no money is missing, contrary to reports that the company could not account for N210 trillion audit queries of the Auditor-General for the Federation.

Ajiya stated this on Wednesday in Abuja after presenting his report on the queries raised in the audit reports from 2017 to 2023.

“Mr Chairman and distinguished senators, I want to assure this committee and indeed, all Nigerians that no money is missing.

“Many of us appearing before this committee today have, over the past five or six years, consistently presented and defended the accounts and reports of the company.

“If any money had gone missing during our period of supervision, we would not have had the courage to publish our audited accounts.

“For over 44 years, the company’s accounts were either not prepared or, when prepared, were not made public. In many instances, they were not even made available to the auditor-general.

“We decided to change that culture by ensuring that the accounts were submitted to the auditor-general and published on our website for public scrutiny.

“We wanted Nigerians to examine them, ask questions and help restore trust in NNPC by moving away from the era of opacity.

“Having carefully reviewed the report, I observed that two key figures generated significant public concern.

“The first is the claim that N5.8 billion was spent to register the new company, NNPC Limited,” he said.

Ajiya described the claim as inaccurate, adding that the actual amount used for the registration was N2.9 billion, and was paid directly to two government agencies.

He said that the money was paid to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), now known as Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).

“This can be independently verified with b

oth agencies,” he stated.

Ajiya stated that someone might have misinterpreted the accounting records under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) or from the Federal Ministry of Finance.

“They are the shareholders representing the Nigerian people. ”

“Since MOFI did not provide the funds for the registration, NNPC paid the registration fees on behalf of the shareholders.

“Subsequently, the relevant entities recorded the transaction in their respective books, as required under standard accounting procedures.

“It appears that whoever advised the committee may have added the figures recorded in different books and mistakenly concluded that N5.8 billion was spent.

“No third party was paid to register the company. The funds were paid directly by NNPCL to government agencies, and that fact can be verified,” he said.

The former NNPCL chief said that unfounded claims had done real damage and harmed the reputations of individuals, the company and Nigeria in general.

“International rating agencies use public information to assess countries; negative, inaccurate reports can hurt Nigeria’s credit rating and our national interests.

“We have seen this before, while seeking about 2.5 billion dollars in Chinese financing for the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline.

“An unpatriotic petition was submitted to Chinese authorities. Despite a sovereign guarantee, the financing was disrupted and the project remains uncompleted.

“Actions like that discourage public servants. At times, it is frustrating.

“But as Nigerians, we remain committed to serving our country and contributing to its development.

“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 said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the committee consequently adjourned hearing and directed Ajiya and Dr Bala Wunti, who served as Chief Upstream Investment Officer during the period under review, to reappear before it in two weeks.