Abuja, Nigeria — Nigeria’s upper legislative chamber, the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has summoned former leaders of the state-owned oil company over questions surrounding ₦210 trillion (about $140 billion) that lawmakers say was not properly accounted for in the company’s financial records.
The Senate Committee on Public Accounts, a parliamentary oversight body responsible for examining government spending, issued the summons to the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari. Also invited are the company’s former Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajia Isa, and the former Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Dr. Bala Wunti.
Okay News reports that the summons was announced on Thursday, March 5, 2026, following the committee’s review of several audit queries relating to the financial activities of the national oil company between 2017 and 2023.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is Nigeria’s state-owned energy company responsible for managing the country’s oil and gas resources. It operates under the oversight of the federal government of Nigeria and plays a central role in the country’s petroleum sector, which remains the largest source of national revenue and foreign exchange earnings.
The Senate committee is chaired by Senator Aliyu Wadada, who represents Nasarawa West Senatorial District in Nasarawa State in north central Nigeria. Speaking after the committee reviewed the audit documents, Wadada said the panel could take stronger action if the former officials fail to honour the invitation.
According to him, the committee may issue a warrant of arrest if the former executives do not appear before lawmakers on the date that will be communicated to them.
The Senate also directed that the former management team should appear alongside the current leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited led by its Group Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Bayo Ojulari. External auditors who handled the company’s accounts during the period under review have also been invited to provide explanations.
While addressing journalists in Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja, Wadada read the committee’s resolutions, stating that the company must account for a combined total of ₦210 trillion identified in audit reports.
The figure includes two separate amounts listed in the audit queries: ₦103 trillion (about $68.7 billion) and ₦107 trillion (about $71.3 billion).
“NNPCL should refund the sum of ₦210 trillion, being the combined sum of ₦103 trillion and ₦107 trillion, which were not properly accounted for as contained in the audit reports. NNPCL should and must account for the two figures,” Wadada said.
The committee said the oil company had failed to provide satisfactory responses to 19 separate audit queries raised against it during the review process.
According to the explanation previously given by the company, the ₦103 trillion represented cumulative expenditures by joint venture partners through joint venture cash calls between 2017 and 2023. However, members of the Senate committee said they considered this explanation unacceptable.
Lawmakers also examined another ₦107 trillion entry recorded in the company’s audited financial statements as of December 2023. The company reportedly classified the amount as subsidy receivables and other debts owed to it by various banks and institutions.
Senator Wadada told journalists that when both figures are combined, the national oil company must provide clear explanations for the total amount.
“When put together, NNPCL needs to properly account for the ₦210 trillion,” he said.
The committee also raised concerns about another financial entry involving ₦5 billion (about $3.3 million). Lawmakers questioned the spending reportedly used to facilitate the change of the company’s name from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
“This, to us in the committee, is unacceptable and satisfactory explanations must be given,” Wadada said.
In addition, the Senate committee directed the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation, the constitutional authority responsible for auditing government accounts in Nigeria, to conduct a forensic audit of the company’s financial statements covering the period between 2017 and 2023.
The investigation will be carried out in accordance with Section 85 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), which grants the Auditor General authority to review public accounts.
Despite the questions raised during the hearing, the Senate committee expressed support for the administration of Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Lawmakers said the government’s broader objective is to strengthen transparency, accountability, and proper management of public funds within key national institutions.
The committee’s next hearing date will determine when the former executives and current management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited must appear before lawmakers to provide further explanations regarding the disputed financial records.
 audit queries linked to the state oil company’s finances from 2017 to 2023.){kind=link}