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ABUJA, Nigeria – The Coalition of Civil Society Groups for Peace, Security, Good Governance, Equity and Justice has condemned the Senate Committee on Public Accounts over the issuance of an arrest warrant against former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mallam Mele Kyari, describing the alleged ₦210 trillion audit discrepancy as a “mathematical absurdity” and a politically motivated media trial.
The coalition, which said it represents more than 50 pro-democracy, accountability and economic watchdog organisations across the country, accused certain lawmakers of turning legislative oversight into political theatre and an attempt to discredit one of the most significant reform figures in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday and signed by its National Coordinator and Convener, Comrade James Okoronkwo, the coalition said the Senate’s handling of the matter was deeply troubling and capable of undermining public confidence in the National Assembly’s oversight responsibilities.
“The claim that NNPCL has ₦210 trillion in unaccounted funds is a staggering mathematical impossibility and a gross misrepresentation of financial records,” the statement said.
According to the coalition, financial data available to its economic intelligence desk showed that between 2017 and 2023, the total gross revenue generated by the national oil company was approximately ₦54.5 trillion before deductions for production costs.
“It is therefore statistically, economically and practically impossible for an organisation to hide or misplace ₦210 trillion when its entire gross earnings for the period do not even amount to a quarter of that figure,” the group stated.
The coalition maintained that the figures being presented as missing funds were in fact standard accounting entries, including accumulated receivables, cross-entity accounting treatments and accrued expenses inherited from the old NNPC corporate structure.
The group also criticised the conduct of some members of the Senate committee, particularly Senator Adams Oshiomhole, alleging that the probe had been turned into a public spectacle.
It described demands that Kyari be produced before the committee “dead or alive” as inappropriate and inconsistent with the principles of legislative oversight.
According to the coalition, the campaign against the former NNPCL chief bears the fingerprints of anti-reform interests and elements of the dismantled fuel subsidy regime that lost influence following the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act and the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
“These interests are now using willing actors within the legislature to rewrite history and tarnish the legacy of a man who championed transparency and reforms in the oil and gas sector,” the statement added.
The coalition consequently passed a vote of confidence on Kyari, describing his tenure as transformational and recalling that prior to his leadership, the former Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation had operated for more than four decades without publishing audited financial statements.
“It was Mallam Mele Kyari who opened the books of the corporation to the Auditor-General and the global public, setting new standards of transparency and accountability in the petroleum sector,” the coalition said.
The group called on the Senate to immediately withdraw the arrest warrant and halt what it described as media sensationalism surrounding the audit query.
It further advised lawmakers to seek the expertise of forensic accountants if they genuinely desired clarity on complex financial records instead of resorting to threats and intimidation, especially against an individual reportedly receiving medical treatment abroad.
The coalition warned that it would mobilise its nationwide digital and print media platforms to counter what it termed deliberate attempts to destroy the reputation and reform legacy of the former NNPCL chief.
“Our coalition will not stand by and watch the institutional memory of the NNPCL’s most consequential reformer be dragged through the mud for cheap political gains,” the statement concluded.
The Senate’s probe into the financial records of the national oil company has continued to generate widespread public interest, with observers closely monitoring developments that could shape public perceptions of accountability and governance in Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
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