Nigeria orders NNPCL CEO to attend hearing over irregular payments

Nigeria’s Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives has ordered the Nigerian National Petroleum Co. Ltd.’s (NNPCL) CEO, Bayo Ojulari, to attend a hearing on December 15 over audit queries raised in 2021.

The directive was given by the committee’s chairman, Bamidele Salam, at its sitting at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja on December 8.

Salam had previously expressed his concern over the state-owned company’s persistent avoidance of committee invitations despite numerous reminders and warned the company’s CEO that patience was wearing thin.

“We have agreed as a committee to give you till next Monday, December 15, for a fresh appearance. Remember, the committee is very busy; we are handling numerous issues. If you have been here in the last couple of weeks, you would understand the volume of matters before us,” Salam said.

In a letter, Ojulari noted that he had been absent due to an official engagement at the Presidential Villa – an excuse that did not come across well with committee members who viewed it as disrespectful, according to The Punch.

The NNPCL is expected to respond to questions posed by the Auditor-General, which will reference payments made to contractors for failed projects, irregular payments made by the company’s Chief Financial Officer without approval of the Group Managing Director, and alleged failure to deduct statutory taxes.

Directives for Ojulari to appear at the senate are part of continued probes into alleged corruption at the NNPCL, with former refinery managing directors and general managers having also been questioned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The EFCC’s probe focused particularly on $18bn spent since 2010 on refinery maintenance, including $656.9mn for Warri refinery, $740.6mn for Kaduna, and $1.55bn for Port Harcourt at the time of former CEO Mele Kyari’s leadership.

Kaduna refinery has taken up around $1.52mn in 10 years, with a contract having been awarded to Daewoo Engineering for the plant’s rehabilitation that aimed for 110,000 barrels per day (bpd) at 60% capacity by the start of 2024.

Daewoo was also involved in a separate contract for Warri refinery’s repairs – awarded to the company for $497.3mn in 2022 and separate from a contract to Saipem for Warri and Kaduna in 2017.