ABUJA, NIGERIA — In a highly charged session of the Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC), former Edo State Governor and Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, launched a blistering attack on the former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari.
The confrontation reached a boiling point as the committee formally issued a warrant of arrest against Kyari for his continued failure to appear before lawmakers to answer critical audit queries involving a staggering N210 trillion in disputed financial entries.
“The Law Must Catch the Lion, Not Only the Rabbit”
Oshiomhole strongly rebuked Kyari and other high-ranking officials of the state-owned oil firm who have repeatedly avoided parliamentary summons, accusing them of behaving as though they are above the law and the Nigerian state itself.
Refusing to accept explanations that Kyari could not attend because he was receiving medical treatment in Germany, Oshiomhole urged his colleagues to assert the full constitutional authority of the National Assembly.
“There are some people who, because of the way in which the country and certain institutions have been run, see themselves as bigger than Nigeria,” Oshiomhole declared passionately.
“The law is effective when it catches a lion, not when you apprehend a rat or a rabbit. This committee must have the courage, the will, to deploy its powers as enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution and issue a warrant—not tomorrow, today.”
Fierce Clash Over Trillions in Public Funds
Oshiomhole emphasized that the Senate has a duty to demand transparency, especially at a time when the country is heavily burdened by external borrowing.
The atmosphere in the hearing room grew even more chaotic during a heated exchange between Oshiomhole and former NNPCL Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajiya, who appeared to defend the corporation’s audited accounts.
- The N210 Trillion Query: The audit queries, forwarded by the Auditor-General of the Federation, span NNPCL’s transactions from 2017 to 2023.
- Ajiya’s Defense: Ajiya dismissed the missing funds allegations as mathematically impossible, stating, “The total revenue earned in the period under review was N54.5 trillion. So how can N210 trillion be missing?”
- The Uproar: Tension spiked when Ajiya remarked that many prominent Nigerians were desperate to secure jobs for their children at the NNPCL. An infuriated Oshiomhole fired back: “I am elected, not to be lectured about morality. You are invited to respond to an auditor’s report… NNPC has no reputation. Your reputation is for fraud.”
Full Senate Moves to Intervene
Following a voice vote, the committee chairman, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, ruled that a warrant of arrest be issued to compel Kyari’s appearance.
However, the dramatic directive faced immediate pushback from the wider Senate chamber. In a subsequent plenary session, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele moved a motion clarifying that individual Senate committees do not possess the independent legal authority to issue arrest warrants—a power reserved solely for the Senate President.
While the full Senate moved to nullify the immediate arrest warrant on procedural grounds, the public face-off has ignited intense national debate over parliamentary oversight, accountability, and the absolute supremacy of the Nigerian constitution over any individual or corporate institution.
