Mele Kyari Denies Allegations of N210trn Missing Funds from NNPC Accounts
Former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mele Kyari, has denied allegations that N210 trillion is missing from the company’s accounts, insisting that the disputed figures are accounting entries rather than evidence of financial losses.
Kyari made the clarification on Tuesday when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, to respond to unresolved audit queries involving the national oil company between 2017 and 2023.
Addressing the lawmakers, the former NNPC chief maintained that no public funds were lost during his tenure, arguing that the figures highlighted in the audit reports had been misinterpreted.
He said the amount in question could not have disappeared under his supervision, adding that he had previously submitted written explanations detailing the transactions now under investigation.
“I wish to confirm that nothing was lost. It is simply not possible that such an amount could have been lost under my care and leadership. The matter relates to accounting entries, which have nothing to do with any financial loss,” Kyari told the committee.
He also dismissed reports that NNPC spent N5 billion to change its name from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited following the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021.
According to him, the company initially paid approximately N2.99 billion on behalf of the Federation to cover incorporation-related expenses. He explained that the money was subsequently transferred into the government’s revenue account and paid to relevant government agencies responsible for the incorporation process.
Kyari added that the transaction was later reflected in the company’s former National Petroleum Investment Management Services account, maintaining that the reported N5 billion expenditure for a name change was inaccurate.
Defending his record in office, the former chief executive said he inherited an organisation facing significant financial difficulties but introduced reforms that improved its financial performance.
He cited an estimated loss of $803 billion recorded by the company in 2018, a year before he assumed leadership, and argued that the changes implemented under his administration moved NNPC towards profitability.
Kyari further claimed that the company recorded sustained profits for the first time in its 44-year history during his leadership.
Meanwhile, the Senate committee said it would examine the documents and financial explanations submitted by the former NNPC boss before determining whether further clarification would be required.
Dankwambo explained that the lawmakers would scrutinise the figures presented by Kyari to establish whether they sufficiently addressed the outstanding audit concerns.
“We shall interrogate the figures submitted by the former GMD to know whether to invite him again. For now, he has responded to the two issues relating to his leadership of NNPC during the period under review,” the senator said.
The investigation follows concerns raised by the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation over more than N210 trillion in outstanding financial entries, discrepancies and unresolved transactions in NNPC’s records covering 2017 to 2023.
The audit queries were subsequently referred to the Senate Committee on Public Accounts for investigation and clarification.
Kyari’s appearance before the lawmakers also followed earlier threats by the committee to invoke its constitutional powers to compel his attendance after he allegedly failed to honour several invitations.
