Former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has denied allegations that N210 trillion was unaccounted for in the company’s financial records during his tenure.
Kyari said no financial wrongdoing occurred under his leadership from 2019 to 2025.
He spoke on Tuesday when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, which is investigating queries raised by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation over the company’s financial records between 2017 and 2023.
He described the allegations as a misinterpretation of accounting entries and financial records.
“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,” Kyari said.
Kyari said the company had made efforts to implement decisions of the National Assembly, leading to sustained investments and the development of the downstream sector.
On payments to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), he said the discrepancies were related to registration entries, while the N2.9bn in question represented statutory payments.
He also denied that N5bn was spent on changing the company’s name, saying the exercise was carried out by the National Assembly without any payment by the NNPCL.
Kyari subsequently submitted his report to the committee.
The committee chairman said 23 issues had been raised, but only one or two concerned the former NNPCL chief.
He said the report would be circulated among members for examination and that the committee could invite relevant officials, including the Auditor-General of the Federation, for further clarification.
The chairman said the committee accepted Kyari’s apology for failing to attend previous sittings and would examine the figures.
Kyari was subsequently discharged pending the conclusion of the investigation.
The Senate committee began investigating the disputed figures in June 2025 following discrepancies in NNPCL’s audited financial statements for 2017 to 2023.
The figures comprise N103trn recorded as accrued expenses and N107trn listed as sundry receivables.
In March 2026, the committee summoned Kyari and other former officials to explain the entries. It later ordered his arrest in June after he failed to appear.
However, former NNPCL officials have maintained that the N210trn did not go missing, arguing that the figure resulted from a misinterpretation of the company’s financial records.
