By George Mgbeleke

Drama as the Senate on Wednesday through its Committee on Public Accounts , ordered the arrest of immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer ( GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited ( NNPCL), Mele Kyari for refusing to appear before it over unaccounted N210trillion from 2017 to 2023.

This was as former Chief Financial Officer ( CFO) of NNPCL , Umar Ajiya Isa , tackled the committee on the allegation by declaring that no money is missing and that the N210trilion being bandied as unaccounted for , was more than N54.5trillion the company generated within the same period .

Warrant of arrest issued against Kyari , arose from his physical absence at the investigative session conducted by the committee on the alleged unaccounted N210trillion .

Senators l Saliu Mustapha ( Kwara Central ) and Tony Nwoye ( Anambra North ) , had in their capacities as members of the committee , separately informed the Chairman , Senator Ibrahim Dankwabo ( Gombe North ) and other members that Kyari should be given another chance to appear before them as he is currently sick in Germany .

But other members of the committee vehemently opposed their suggestion by calling on the Chairman to issue warrant of arrest against him .

Specifically , Senator Abdul Ningi ( Bauchi Central ) in opposing possible voluntary appearance by Kyari said verbal excuse should not be accepted but documented evidence of sickness followed by Senator Victor Umeh ( Anambra Central) , who raised motion on issuance of warrant of arrest against Kyari .

In seconding the motion , the Deputy Chairman of the committee, Senator Peter Nwaebonyi ( Ebonyi North) , said giving Kyari another chance of making voluntary appearance , would be tantamount to wild goose chase .

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

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

The Committee Chairman , accordingly after putting the motion to voice votes and got affirmation from members declared that : ” Anywhere Mele Kyari is , should be arrested and brought before this committee” .

The alleged unaccounted N210trillion was however kicked against by Hajiya in his submission before the committee saying if such humongous amount was missing , there wouldn’t have been any audited report.

” 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 .

He added that the claim that ₦5.8 billion was used to register NNPC Limited was untrue and damaging .

He tasked the committee to make verification of the claim from the Corporate Affairs Commission and the Federal Inland Revenue Service now 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 .

In continuation of the investigation, the committee directed Hajiya and Bala Wunti who served as Chief Upstream Investment Officer during the period under review , to reappear before it in two weeks time

9By George Mgbeleke

By George Mgbeleke

Senate Committee on Public Accounts has given Bank of Agriculture, Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company, and Rural Electrification Agency
one week to appear before it and respond to outstanding audit queries.

The directive followed their failure to appear before the committee during the committee’s hearing on Tuesday in Abuja.

However, the secretary of the committee informed the chairman of the committee,
Sen Ibrahim Dankwambo ( Gombe North) that he received a correspondence from the Bank of Agriculture signed by its legal adviser.

The letter stated that the bank had previously appeared before the panel between February 2023 and November 2024.

In the letter, the bank also stated that issues raised during those appearances had been resolved with the committee and relevant government authorities.

The bank, however, requested details of any unresolved matters and sought at least two weeks to enable its management collate documents.

The chairman of the committee, Sen Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe North)
faulted the letter, noting that it was signed by officials below the rank of Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.

Dankwambo maintained that all communications relating to committee invitations must be personally signed and transmitted by agency chief executives.

He also criticised the bank’s failure to present its Managing Director before the committee in spite of the fact that they were invited to explain outstanding audit issues.

The committee rejected the request for two weeks, insisting that agencies could not determine timelines for legislative oversight proceedings.

The committee members unanimously resolved that the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture must personally appear before the committee within one week.

The lawmakers stressed that previous audit concerns involving the bank remained unresolved, contrary to claims contained in the correspondence.

The committee further warned that future communications signed by subordinate officers instead of chief executives would no longer be entertained.

The lawmakers also described the absence of Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company and the Rural Electrification Agency as unacceptable and directed that the organisations be given a final one-week opportunity to appear before the panel.

Several members of the committee expressed concern over what they described as a growing pattern of disregard for legislative summons by government agencies.

They noted that audit queries were serious accountability matters requiring prompt responses and should not be treated with indifference by public institutions.

The committee emphasised that it was acting on reports submitted through constitutional processes and not pursuing issues outside its statutory mandate.

The committee warned that agencies failing to honour invitations after the final notice would face sanctions in line with its powers.

Dankwambo said strong letters would be issued immediately to the defaulting agencies outlining unresolved issues requiring their attention.

He added that the agencies must appear within one week or risk sanctions for failing to cooperate with legislative oversight responsibilities