Senate Orders Arrest Of NNPC Ex-CEO Mele Kyari Over ‘Missing’ N210trn, As Former Official Says It’s Nonsense
The Senate has through its Committee on Public Accounts, ordered the arrest of the 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 N210 trillion from 2017 to 2023.
This was as former the 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 N210 trillion being bandied as unaccounted for, was more than N54.5 trillion the company generated within the same period.
A warrant of arrest was immediately issued on Wednesday against Kyari, over his persistent physical absence from the investigative sessions conducted by the committee on the alleged unaccounted N210 trillion.
Senators Saliu Mustapha (Kwara Central) and Tony Nwoye (Anambra North), 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 and urged the Chairman to issue a 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 amount to a 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 N210 trillion was however kicked against by Hajiya in his submission before the committee saying if such a 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.
He said: “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.”
