The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has ordered the arrest of former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mele Kyari, over N210 trillion allegedly unaccounted for during his tenure.
The directive was issued on Tuesday after Kyari repeatedly failed to honor invitations by the committee, which is investigating discrepancies in NNPCL’s financial records. Committee Chairman Senator Ahmed Wadada Aliyu said the panel had given the former NNPCL boss multiple opportunities to appear and explain gaps flagged in audit reports.
“The committee views the refusal to appear as a disregard for the authority of the National Assembly,” Aliyu said during plenary. “We have therefore resolved to invoke our constitutional powers and request that relevant security agencies produce him before this committee.”
The N210 trillion figure cited by the committee stems from ongoing audits of NNPCL’s joint venture operations, crude oil sales, and subsidy claims between 2020 and 2024. Lawmakers allege that remittances to the Federation Account were not fully reconciled, and that documentation for crude lifting and strategic project spending was incomplete.
NNPCL has previously maintained that its accounts are audited annually and that all revenues due to the Federation are remitted after deducting costs approved under the Petroleum Industry Act. Kyari, who left office in 2024, has not publicly responded to the latest Senate order.
The Committee directed the Inspector-General of Police to execute the warrant and ensure Kyari appears at its next hearing slated for next week. It also asked NNPCL’s current management to provide a full breakdown of the contested transactions and submit all supporting documents within 7 days.
Civil society groups tracking extractive sector transparency have called for due process, urging the Senate to make its findings public. “The numbers being mentioned are huge. Nigerians deserve clarity backed by documents,” said a spokesperson for the Centre for Transparency in Energy Finance.
Kyari was appointed GMD of the former NNPC in 2019 and transitioned to GCEO of NNPCL when the company became commercialized in 2022. His tenure covered the COVID-19 oil price crash, the subsidy regime, and the company’s push to become a limited liability entity under the PIA.
The Senate’s probe is part of a broader review of revenue-generating agencies by the 10th National Assembly.
