Audit query: Kyari Refutes Report of Missing 107 Million Barrels of Crude Oil

Udora Orizu

The Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr. Mele Kyari has assured the House of Representatives that the oil company has nothing to hide following the indictment of its 17 subsidiaries by the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation (OAuGF) over financial infractions between 2014 and 2019.

The GMD also dismissed media reports that about 107 million barrel of crude oil could not be accounted for in 2018.

Kyari who made these known while addressing members of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts (PAC) at the resumed investigative hearing on the report of the Auditor General, however said he would take responsibility for the actions of the subsidiaries.

He promised the lawmakers that the NNPC and its subsidiaries would appear before them next Tuesday to respond to the audit queries.

He said, “First, let me clarify an issue. NNPC has nothing to hide. We have nothing to hide from Nigerians. In view of that, we have published the same audited account that you have for Nigerians to see, read and comment on.

“Those accounts are a complete reflection of all our transactions, including our subsidiary companies. So, we are hiding nothing from Nigerians. I agree with you that we can be more transparent. Can we do something different from this? Absolutely yes. Are we doing enough? Yes, we are doing more than enough.

“No national oil company in this world publishes its audited statement of account. There is no company that publishes its monthly report as we do.

“Therefore, I expect that you should congratulate us that we are doing more than expectations in terms of transparency and accountability. We owe this to Nigerians because it is their company and we sincerely believe that this companies art owned by the over 200 million Nigerians, we are accountable to them and we must be transparent by every means possible.

“But as we do this, we must also recognise that we are running a business on their behalf and this business has rules and responsibilities and part of it is to have report of this nature which the Auditor General endorses by law for them to deliver on. But have it at the back of your mind that we have nothing to hide.”

Speaking on media reports that about 107 million barrel of crude oil could not be accounted for in 2018, he said: “Two weeks ago, it was in all the media that 107 million barrels of crude was stolen or diverted. You will not appreciate the evil of bad image this has created for our country.

“Our lending partners have called me that this is a wrong approach and that they will not lend to us without clarifying issues. Auditor General is here and we are in the same country. We are all serving this country.

“You can’t declare something like that without it having effect and if we don’t respond to this, it will be obvious that it is what is happening in our country. Nobody has stolen 107 million barrels of crude oil. If for any reason, it was not well captured by the Auditor General, it is a different issue,” Kyari added

Earlier, the Committee Chaired by Hon. Wole Oke was of the view that the company was hiding certain things from Nigerians, as well as trying to shield its subsidiaries.

Oke said the House was shying away from invoking the provisions of the constitution to issue warrant of arrest on the leadership of the subsidiaries who had refused to appear before parliament to answer question arising from the AuGF report.

Reacting to the statement by the GMD that he will take responsibility for the actions of the subsidiaries, Oke said the NNPC was not in a position to dictate to parliament how it conducts its business.