Senate orders Kyari’s arrest over alleged ₦210trn discrepancy as Ajiya insists no funds missing

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts on Wednesday ordered the arrest of Mele Kyari, the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), over his failure to appear before the panel investigating an alleged ₦210 trillion discrepancy in the company’s accounts between 2017 and 2023.

The committee’s decision followed Kyari’s absence at a scheduled investigative hearing on audit queries raised by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation concerning NNPCL’s financial records during the period under review.

However, Umar Ajiya Isa, the former Chief Financial Officer of NNPCL, dismissed claims that ₦210 trillion was unaccounted for, describing the allegation as impossible and misleading.

According to him, the amount being cited as missing far exceeds the company’s total revenue of about ₦54.5 trillion during the same period.

During the hearing, some lawmakers appealed for leniency, citing reports that Kyari was receiving medical treatment in Germany.

Saliu Mustapha, representing Kwara Central, and Tony Nwoye, representing Anambra North, urged the committee to grant the former NNPCL chief another opportunity to appear before the panel.

Their appeal, however, met stiff resistance from other committee members, who insisted that Kyari’s continued absence was unacceptable.

Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi Central, argued that claims of illness should be backed by documentary evidence rather than verbal explanations.

Victor Umeh, representing Anambra Central, subsequently moved a motion for the issuance of a warrant of arrest against Kyari.

Supporting the motion, Peter Nwaebonyi, Deputy Chairman of the committee and Senator representing Ebonyi North, said the panel could no longer continue to wait indefinitely for the former NNPCL boss.

“This is the 9th time this committee is meeting on the 19 queries raised against NNPCL by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, three of which were chaired by me.

“Mr Chairman, the time to issue a warrant of arrest against Mele Kyari is now because the committee must conclude its assignment and report back to the Senate,” he said.

Following a voice vote, the committee unanimously approved the motion.

Announcing the decision, Committee Chairman Ibrahim Dankwambo declared:

“Anywhere Mele Kyari is, he should be arrested and brought before this committee.”

Reacting to the allegations during his appearance before the panel, Ajiya maintained that no funds were missing from the company and defended the integrity of NNPCL’s audited accounts.

“To be clear: if money had gone missing at NNPC during our tenure, we would not have had the courage to publish audited accounts. For over 40 years, those accounts were either not prepared, not made public, or not even shared with the Auditor-General.

“₦210 trillion is an enormous sum. NNPC’s total revenue in the period under review was about ₦54.5 trillion, even before deducting production costs. It’s impossible for ₦210 trillion to be missing or unaccounted for,” he said.

Ajiya also rejected allegations that ₦5.8 billion was spent on the registration of NNPC Limited, describing the claim as false and harmful.

He urged the committee to verify the matter with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), now known as the Nigeria Revenue Service.

“Unfounded claims do real damage. They harm the reputations of individuals, the company, and Nigeria itself. International rating agencies use public information to assess countries. Negative, inaccurate reports can hurt Nigeria’s credit rating and our national interests.

“We’ve seen this before. While seeking about $2.5 billion 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’s frustrating. But as Nigerians, we remain committed to serving our country and contributing to its development.

“When people claim ₦210 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.

As part of its ongoing investigation, the committee directed Ajiya and Bala Wunti, who served as Chief Upstream Investment Officer during the period under review, to reappear before it in two weeks for further questioning.