Senate committee orders arrest of ex-NNPC boss Mele Kyari over N210tn audit queries

By Victor Idajili

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts on Wednesday ordered the arrest of former NNPC Group CEO Mele Kyari after he failed to appear for a hearing on N210 trillion in audit queries raised by the Auditor-General of the Federation.

Kyari has repeatedly skipped sessions probing NNPC’s financial records from 2017 to 2023. Lawmakers said enough time had been given and ruled that the investigation could not wait any longer.

 
Committee Chairman Ibrahim Dankwambo, Gombe North, issued the warrant after a voice vote.  
“Anywhere Mele Kyari is, he should be arrested and brought before this committee,” he directed.

The push for arrest followed debate inside the committee. Saliu Mustapha, Kwara Central, and Tony Nwoye, Anambra North, urged more patience, saying Kyari was reportedly ill and receiving treatment in Germany. 

But Abdul Ningi, Bauchi Central, insisted verbal claims of illness were not enough without medical proof. Victor Umeh, Anambra Central, then moved the motion for arrest, which was seconded by Deputy Chairman Peter Nwaebonyi, Ebonyi North.

Nwaebonyi said this was the committee’s 9th sitting on 19 queries raised against NNPC by the Auditor-General. “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.

Adams Oshiomhole, Edo North, argued the Senate had 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,” he said.

  
The controversy centres on audit queries alleging N210tn was unaccounted for in NNPC accounts between 2017 and 2023.

Former NNPC Chief Financial Officer Umar Ajiya Isa rejected the figure before the committee. He called it “misleading” and said it doesn’t match NNPC’s actual earnings.  
“If money had gone missing at NNPC during our tenure, we would not have had the courage to publish audited accounts,” Isa said. He noted NNPC’s total revenue in that period was about N54.5tn before production costs. “It’s impossible for N210tn to be missing or unaccounted for.”

Isa also dismissed claims that N5.8bn was spent registering NNPC Limited as inaccurate. He warned that false figures damage reputations and Nigeria’s credit rating, citing how a petition once disrupted Chinese financing for the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano Gas Pipeline despite a sovereign guarantee.

He urged the EFCC and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit to investigate and establish the facts so Nigerians can trust the numbers.

The committee directed Isa and former Chief Upstream Investment Officer Bala Wunti to return within two weeks as the probe continues. Lawmakers say they need to close gaps in NNPC’s financial reporting and settle the disputed audit figures once and for all.

The arrest order puts pressure on Kyari to appear and answer questions on one of the largest financial queries ever raised against Nigeria’s national oil company.