NNPCL’s ₦230tr Fraud Scandal: Group Urges Tinubu to Probe Ojulari, Senate to Issue Bench Warrant
Irked by the level of fraud in Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), an accountability and pro-democracy group has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to, as a matter of necessity, cause an immediate probe into the multiple allegations against the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPCL, Engr. Bayo Ojulari.
The group, Network for Good Governance and Accountability in Nigeria (NeGGAN), also called on the Nigerian Senate to invoke relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution and the Legislative Houses (Powers & Privileges) Act 2018 to issue a warrant of arrest on the NNPCL GCEO, who has several times refused to honour the invitations of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts over the ongoing probe of the unaccounted ₦230 trillion.
In a statement signed by the Convener, Engr. Jacob Yakubu, and made available to newsmen on Friday, the group wondered why President Tinubu has not ordered an independent probe into the activities of Engr. Ojulari, “despite multiple allegations against him, with some heavy petitions submitted to the EFCC by notable organizations in Nigeria”.
The group expressed worries that “the NNPCL Boss has brazenly disrespected the institution of National Assembly and has undermined the constitutional powers of the lawmakers to oversight his agency” by refusing to present himself to the Senate committee, despite extending invitations to him five different times.
The Chief Executive Officer of the nation’s oil giant was several times summoned by the Senate to respond to queries raised over the NNPCL’s audited financial statements spanning 2017 to 2023. The Senate is demanding explanations from NNPCL over financial discrepancies totalling over ₦210 trillion.
The Senate Committee, led by Senator Aliyu Wadada, had raised concerns over the audited reports, citing accrued expenses of ₦103 trillion, which included ₦600 billion in retention fees, unspecified legal fees, and auditor charges, all without any accompanying documentation or referenced contracts.
The NNPCL Boss, after several failed attempts to appear in person, sent a document explaining that ₦103 trillion was in accrued expenses and ₦107 trillion in receivables, totalling ₦210 trillion, even though the Senate committee queried this submission.
“We also take note of the submission of former Governor of Edo State and Senator representing Edo North, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, when he alleged in November last year that Engr. Ojulari was attempting to cover up fraud in the NNPCL’s financial records,” the statement said.
The Senator raised serious concern that the alleged financial mismanagement within the NNPCL involved sums greater than what President Tinubu’s administration was then seeking to borrow from foreign creditors, urging the committee to exercise its constitutional powers under the 1999 Constitution to summon and, if necessary, compel the appearance of the NNPCL boss before the Senate.
“It is surprising that, about 3 months later, Ojulari has not done the needful, but the Nigerian Senate is quiet over the issue. Can an individual appointee of the government be more powerful than the institution of government?” the group asked.
The statement further frowned at the silence of the Presidency, despite the series of allegations, saying the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had last year arrested Engr. Ojulari and held him over some allegations, but he was later released without making public their findings.
It said: “The Nigerian people deserve to know what the report was. We only heard rumours that Ojulari was forced to resign while he was at the EFCC custody. But Bayo Onanuga countered it in a statement and said he remained NNPCL GCEO. But what actually transpired while Ojulari was with the anti-graft agency, we need to know.
“Nigerians deserve to know how Ojulari allegedly transferred millions of dollars to the account of AA & R Investment Group, the company owned by Abdullahi Bashir-Haske, son-in-law of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
“Bashir Haske, who was detained, was said to have confessed to holding the funds on Ojulari’s behalf. Up till today, there has not been any official statement on the amount of dollars, if it was confiscated or what happened to it.
“Also last year, there was another allegation of a $21 million kickback scheme involving oil traders and pipeline contractors, reportedly uncovered after Ojulari reassigned fund collection responsibilities. We are happy that the EFCC swiftly froze the implicated account, after a whistleblower alerted them.
“There was also another allegation of non-remittance of ₦500 billion to the Federation Account, which SERAP urged the EFCC and ICPC to investigate.
“We are not here to lay fresh allegations; we are only concerned that despite all these grave allegations and series of controversies surrounding the NNPCL GCEO, the EFCC, DSS, and other agencies who are saddled with the task of investigating them appear to be quiet, just as the Presidency, while the National Assembly also appears to have given up on its probe. It then means Ojulari is above the law”.
