The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has ordered the arrest of former Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, over his alleged failure to honour its invitation.
The warrant was issued on Wednesday after Kyari failed to appear before the committee during a hearing on audit queries linked to N210 trillion covering 2017 to 2023.
The committee had invited NNPC Limited officials, including current GCEO Bayo Ojulari, former Chief Financial Officer Umar Ajia, Bala Wunti, Kyari, and the company’s external auditors, to respond to issues raised in reports from the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation.
Lawmakers were reportedly angered by Kyari’s absence.
Senator Victor Umeh, who moved the motion for the warrant, said, “Kyari should be here; we cannot wait for him to appear before us at his convenience.
“It is a national emergency that Mele Kyari should cut short his trip anywhere in the world and return home.
“He should come before this committee to answer the questions put by the auditor-general for the federation against NNPC Limited.
“So if I am to say, I will say that this committee should issue a warrant of arrest against Kyari.
“We are talking about trillions of naira. The country is not faring well. If we have access to these funds, we will not be in this financial challenge.
“He must come and explain what has happened to these funds. So I so move that he should be issued a warrant of arrest.”
Senator Tony Nwoye, however, said Kyari had promised to attend but was currently receiving treatment in Germany.
“I spoke to Mele Kyari; that was a week ago; he promised that he would be here. But incidentally, I learnt last night that the man is hospitalised in Germany; yes, he is in hospital in Germany,” Nwoye said.
But Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi argued that Kyari had ignored nine consecutive summonses and backed the motion. Committee chairman Ibrahim Dankambo later approved the warrant following a unanimous voice vote.
