Ex-NNPC Boss Mele Kyari Speaks on Alleged Missing ₦210tn Amid Senate Probe

• Mele Kyari told senators that the figures flagged in NNPC’s ₦210tn audit queries were accounting entries. The committee says it will scrutinise his submissions.

Former Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari has denied that ₦210 trillion went missing from the company’s accounts, telling the Senate that the figures flagged in its 2017–2023 audit reports reflected bookkeeping issues.

Kyari appeared before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts on Tuesday. He said the company suffered no financial loss linked to the disputed entries during his tenure from 2019 to 2025 and that he had addressed the queries in a written submission.

“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.

“They are bookkeeping issues, and I believe the appropriate explanations have been provided in my report,” he said.

Kyari explains ₦2.99bn incorporation payment

Kyari also disputed claims that ₦5 billion was spent on renaming the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation as NNPC Limited following the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021.

He told the committee that the company paid approximately ₦2.99 billion to government institutions for incorporation services on behalf of the Federation. According to him, the payment was later charged to the Federation’s revenue and recorded in the former NAPIMS account.

“This was simply an accounting entry, involving approximately N2.99bn. It was a payment made to government institutions responsible for providing the relevant services. I have also seen comments suggesting that N5bn was paid for the naming of the company. That is incorrect.”

The former NNPC chief also defended his management record. He said the company was making losses before he took over in 2019 and credited changes under his leadership with putting it on a path to sustained profitability.

Senate to scrutinise Kyari’s figures

Committee chairman Ibrahim Dankwambo, who represents Gombe North, said lawmakers would review Kyari’s explanations and supporting documents before deciding whether to summon him again.

“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,” Dankwambo said.

The Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation referred the audit queries to the committee. They concern unresolved entries and discrepancies in NNPC’s financial records between 2017 and 2023.

Kyari’s appearance followed complaints from senators that he had failed to honour earlier invitations. Senator Victor Umeh, representing Anambra Central, raised the matter in a motion, while Senator Adams Oshiomhole called for an arrest warrant to compel Kyari to appear.

The Senate subsequently said any warrant would have to comply with the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act and receive the Senate President’s express approval. It also distanced itself from Oshiomhole’s description of NNPC as “a bunch of criminals and thieves.”