Title: Senate Summons Ex-NNPC Boss Kyari, Others Over Alleged N210trn Financial Irregularities Date Published: 05 March 2026 Description: The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has summoned former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, and other top officials over alleged financial discrepancies totalling about N210 trillion in the company’s accounts.Chairman of the committee, Ahmed Wadada, announced the summons during a news conference in Abuja on Thursday, saying the decision followed what lawmakers described as unsatisfactory responses from the oil company regarding its audited financial statements covering 2017 to 2023.Wadada said the committee had undertaken a detailed review of the financial records of the national oil firm after discrepancies were discovered in its audited reports.According to him, the investigation did not drag unnecessarily but was deliberately prolonged to allow the panel conduct a thorough examination that would provide clear and credible conclusions.“It is well known that this committee investigated the audited financial statements of NNPCL from 2017 to 2023,” he said, noting that the panel was determined to ensure the outcome of its work would send the right signal to Nigerians about accountability in public institutions.The senator explained that the probe began in May 2025 after the committee reviewed reports issued by the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation for the financial years ending 2019 and 2020.He said the committee subsequently examined the company’s audited financial statements prepared by external auditors as well as financial records of the former National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), now known as NNPCL Upstream Investment Limited, covering the same period.Wadada disclosed that the panel raised 19 queries to the management of the oil company seeking explanations on inconsistencies discovered in the financial statements.However, he said the responses submitted by the company were considered unsatisfactory by the committee.One of the key concerns, he noted, was an accrued expenses figure of N103 trillion recorded in the company’s 2022 audited financial statements.According to him, the expenses were listed as retention fees, legal fees and audit fees but the financial statement failed to provide specific breakdowns of the amounts attributed to each category.The company later explained that the figure represented cumulative spending by joint venture partners under the joint venture cash call arrangement.But the committee rejected the explanation, pointing out that the cash call regime had already been abolished in 2016 and ceased to operate from January 2017.Lawmakers also questioned the N107 trillion recorded as sundry receivables in the company’s accounts as of December 2023.Wadada said NNPCL claimed that part of the amount was owed by some defunct banks and other institutions, but the committee insisted that the company failed to provide a comprehensive breakdown identifying the debtors.The panel further observed a duplication of subsidy deductions amounting to N3.8 trillion, which it said was deducted both from crude oil proceeds in the books of NAPIMS and from petroleum product proceeds in the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.The committee also raised concerns over N5 trillion listed as direct production costs between 2017 and 2021, arguing that neither NNPC nor NAPIMS directly produces crude oil.Another issue highlighted by the lawmakers was the N5.9 billion spent as incorporation expenses during the transition from NNPC to NNPCL, which the committee described as excessive.Following the findings, the committee directed the oil company to account for the combined N210 trillion linked to the unexplained accrued expenses and sundry receivables.It also ordered the refund of all production costs that were charged against crude oil revenue during the period under review.Wadada said the immediate past management of NNPC and NAPIMS, including Kyari, former Chief Financial Officer Umar Ajiya and former Group General Manager of NAPIMS Bala Wunti, had been summoned to appear before the committee.They are expected to appear alongside the current management of NNPCL and the external auditors responsible for preparing the financial statements to provide detailed explanations on the alleged infractions.The committee also recommended that the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation conduct a forensic audit of NNPCL’s financial statements from 2017 to 2023 in line with Section 85 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).Wadada warned that the Senate would invoke its constitutional powers if any of the summoned officials failed to appear before the panel without valid reasons.He added that the committee remained committed to strengthening transparency and accountability in the management of public funds while supporting the economic reform agenda of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. 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