Senate Threatens to Arrest NNPCL Boss Over No-Show at N210tn Probe

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has issued a stern warning to the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), threatening to issue an arrest warrant should he fail to appear before the committee.

This development comes amid an ongoing investigation into alleged financial discrepancies amounting to over N210 trillion in NNPCL’s audited reports spanning from 2017 to 2023. The committee expressed deep concern over the repeated absence of the corporation’s leadership despite official summons and emphasized that accountability in public institutions must not be ignored.

According to the committee, the failure of NNPCL’s top management and its external auditors to honor previous invitations raises serious questions about transparency and respect for the legislative oversight function.

The lawmakers insisted that the GCEO must personally appear to provide clarifications on the irregularities flagged in the financial statements. They warned that continued non-compliance would leave the committee with no option but to invoke its constitutional powers to compel attendance through a bench warrant.

This confrontation marks a critical point in the Senate’s efforts to uphold fiscal discipline and ensure the proper management of national resources. Public interest in the probe has grown, with many Nigerians demanding accountability from the national oil giant.

The Senate Committee stressed that no government agency, regardless of its size or strategic importance, is above scrutiny, and urged the NNPCL leadership to cooperate fully in the interest of transparency and public trust.