Senate Calls On Kyari and Former NNPC Officials Over Alleged N210 Trillion Discrepancies

The Senate's Public Accounts Committee has issued a summons to Mele Kyari, the former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), along with his management team, over allegations of discrepancies amounting to N210 trillion.

At a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, the committee's Chairperson, Ahmed Wadada, confirmed the summons.

Wadada stated that the action was prompted by NNPCL's unsatisfactory response to the audited financial statements of the company covering the years from 2017 to 2023.

"It is widely acknowledged that this committee is investigating the audited financial statements of NNPCL for the period in question," he noted.

He elaborated that the lengthy investigation was not a result of negligence on the committee's part, but rather a commitment to ensuring that the findings are clear and reliable to the public.

The inquiry commenced in May 2025 following concerns raised during reviews of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation's reports for 2019 and 2020.

The committee carefully assessed the financial statements prepared by external auditors and examined the records of the former National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), now referred to as NNPCL Upstream Investment Limited, for the same period.

In total, the committee presented 19 questions to NNPCL's management, requesting clarifications on the inconsistencies found in their financial data. However, Wadada remarked that the explanations provided were found lacking.

"A significant issue highlighted was the accrued expenses totaling N103 trillion indicated in NNPCL's 2022 audited financial statements," he explained.

He clarified that this figure encompassed retention fees, legal expenses, and audit fees, but none of these items had specific amounts attached in the accounts.

NNPCL later claimed these costs reflected cumulative spending from joint venture partners under their cash call arrangement.

The committee dismissed this explanation, pointing out that the cash call system had been discontinued in 2016, effective from January 2017.

Furthermore, the committee sought clarity on an alarming figure of N107 trillion recorded as sundry receivables by December 2023.

According to NNPCL, part of this amount was owed by some now-defunct banks and other entities, yet lawmakers criticized the company for failing to provide a detailed breakdown of the debts.

Wadada indicated that the committee also discovered duplicate subsidy deductions of N3.8 trillion that had been withdrawn from crude oil revenues in NAPIMS's accounts and also deducted from petroleum product revenues in NNPC's books.

Concerns were also raised over N5 trillion recorded as direct production costs from 2017 to 2021, noting that neither NNPC nor NAPIMS directly produces crude oil.

Additionally, the committee scrutinized N5.9 billion spent on incorporation during the transition from NNPC to NNPCL, which they deemed excessive.

As a result of these findings, the committee has mandated that NNPCL accounts for the overall N210 trillion associated with the unexplained accrued expenses and sundry receivables.

They also demanded that NNPCL refund all production costs charged against crude oil income during the review period.

The committee has summoned the immediate past management of NNPC and NAPIMS, including Kyari, former CFO Umar Ajiya, and former General Manager of NAPIMS Bala Wunti, to appear before the panel with the current NNPCL management and the external auditors who prepared the financial statements.

They are required to provide detailed explanations regarding how these alleged discrepancies occurred.

Wadada also mentioned that the committee has proposed that the Office of the Auditor-General conduct a forensic audit of NNPCL's financial statements for the period from 2017 to 2023 under Section 85 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

He warned that the Senate would exercise its constitutional authority if the summoned officials fail to appear as requested.

"Anyone invited by this committee who does not show up without valid reasons will face necessary repercussions," Wadada affirmed, reiterating the committee's commitment to ensuring transparency and accountability in public fund management while supporting President Bola Tinubu's economic reform agenda.