The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, to appear before it or face a warrant of arrest for repeatedly shunning invitations to defend audit queries.
Chairman of the committee, Aliyu Wadada, gave the directive during a session with NNPCL representatives at the National Assembly, warning that the Senate would not hesitate to invoke its constitutional powers should Ojulari fail to comply.
Ojulari, who has now failed to honour four separate invitations, instead sent the Chief Financial Officer, Dapo Segun, to represent him, a decision that has infuriated committee members who insist the appearance is non-negotiable. Segun, appearing before the committee, said Ojulari’s absence was due to a sudden presidential invitation. According to a letter dated July 22, read aloud by the committee clerk, Mohammed Sani Abdullahi, the GCEO was summoned by President Bola Tinubu at around 1pm same day, which prevented his appearance.
But senators dismissed the explanation, accusing Ojulari of serial disregard for the National Assembly. The committee is probing audit queries from 2017 to 2023, which flagged discrepancies amounting to N210 trillion, including unsubstantiated liabilities of N103 trillion. Lawmakers are alarmed that only N3 to N5 trillion was recorded in the company’s profit and loss account over the six-year period. “This invitation is not optional,” Wadada stated. “Anyone too big to comply with the law should consider relocating.” He clarified that the committee was not accusing the NNPCL of theft but stressed that the scale of the discrepancies demanded immediate and direct clarification. He described Ojulari’s failure to appear as “insulting” to both the committee and Nigerians, adding that public trust in the NNPCL hinges on transparency.
The lawmakers expressed unanimous frustration over the GCEO’s repeated absence. Senator Victor Umeh acknowledged that a presidential call might justify Ojulari’s latest absence but warned against using President Tinubu as a shield from legislative accountability. “That excuse should not be allowed to continue.”
He was supported by Joel Thomas Onowakpo who accused the NNPCL boss of treating the committee with disdain. “To me, the NNPCL boss thinks that he is bigger than this committee. We don’t need a soothsayer to tell us that he will never honour our invitation unless we compel him.”
Similarly, Aminu Abbas described Ojulari’s attitude as outright disrespect. “No GCEO is bigger than the National Assembly. For failing to honour invitations four times, he should be ordered to appear tomorrow unfailingly.”
The committee then resolved that Ojulari must appear in person by 3:00pm on Wednesday, or the Senate will proceed with the issuance of a warrant of arrest and initiate prosecution under the full weight of its constitutional authority.