Senate summons Mele Kyari, others over N210trn NNPC fraud

The Nigerian Senate has uncovered a staggering N210 trillion discrepancy in the audited accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) covering a seven-year period from 2017 to 2023.

The Senate Public Accounts Committee has consequently summoned the immediate past management of the national oil company, including former Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari, former Chief Financial Officer Umar Ajiya, and former Group General Manager of NAPIMS, Bala Wunti.

The current management of NNPCL and the external auditors responsible for the financial statements have also been ordered to appear before the panel.

Committee Chairman Senator Ahmed Wadada, representing Nasarawa West, disclosed these developments during a press briefing on Thursday in Abuja.

He explained that the investigation into the oil company’s audited financial statements had been thorough and deliberate, ensuring no ambiguity in the findings.

“The investigation lingered not because the committee abandoned it, but because we wanted to do a very thorough job so that the outcome will not be ambiguous and will send the right signal to the public,” Wadada stated.

The legislative inquiry, which commenced in May 2025, was triggered by concerns arising from the Auditor-General for the Federation’s reports for 2019 and 2020.

The committee subsequently scrutinised financial statements prepared by external auditors and examined records from the former National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), now known as NNPC Upstream Investment Limited.

According to Wadada, the committee submitted 19 questions to NNPC management seeking clarification on inconsistencies, but found the responses unsatisfactory.

A major point of contention was the N103 trillion recorded as accrued expenses in the 2022 audited accounts, reportedly covering retention, legal, and audit fees without specific figures assigned. NNPC later claimed this amount represented cumulative spending by joint venture partners under the Joint Venture cash call arrangement.

However, the committee rejected this explanation, noting the cash call regime had been abolished in 2016 and took effect from January 2017.

The panel also flagged N107 trillion recorded as sundry receivables as of December 2023. While NNPC attributed part of this to debts owed by defunct banks and other entities, lawmakers insisted the company failed to provide a detailed breakdown identifying the responsible institutions.

Additional irregularities identified include an alleged duplication of subsidy deductions totalling N3.8 trillion, which appeared to have been deducted from both crude oil proceeds in NAPIMS accounts and petroleum product proceeds in NNPC books. The committee further questioned N5 trillion charged as direct production costs between 2017 and 2021, arguing that neither NNPC nor NAPIMS engages in direct crude oil production.

The panel also described as excessive the N5.9 billion spent on incorporation expenses during the transition from NNPC to NNPCL.

Following these discoveries, the committee has demanded that NNPCL account for the combined N210 trillion arising from unexplained accrued expenses and sundry receivables.

It has also directed the company to refund all production costs charged against crude oil revenue during the period under review.

Wadada emphasised that summoned officials must provide detailed explanations regarding how these alleged infractions occurred.

The committee has additionally recommended that the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation conduct a forensic audit of NNPC’s financial statements from 2017 to 2023, in accordance with Section 85 of the 1999 Constitution.

When questioned by journalists, Wadada warned that the Senate would not hesitate to invoke its constitutional powers should the summoned officials fail to appear.

“Whoever this committee invites and refuses to come without satisfactory reasons, the needful will be done. We are empowered by the constitution and our rules of engagement here in the Senate,” he cautioned.

The committee reaffirmed its dedication to promoting transparency and accountability in managing Nigeria’s public resources, while expressing support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reform agenda.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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