Former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, has told the Senate that the controversial 210 trillion naira reflected in the company's financial records was not missing, insisting the amount represented accounting entries and not any financial loss.
Kyari made the clarification on Tuesday when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, which is investigating NNPC's audited financial statements covering 2017 to 2023, including queries raised by the Auditor-General of the Federation.
- Kyari says the 210 trillion naira figure is accounting entries, not lost funds
- The figure combines 103 trillion and 107 trillion naira entries on opposite sides of the balance sheet
- The committee says the investigation is not concluded and it will interrogate his submissions
What Kyari told the Senate panel
"I wish to confirm that nothing was lost. It is simply not possible that such an amount could have been lost under my care and leadership," Kyari told the committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo.
"The matter relates to accounting entries, which have nothing to do with any financial loss. They are bookkeeping issues, and I believe the appropriate explanations have been provided in my report," he said.
Kyari, who led the company from 2019 to 2025, appeared with his legal team after the committee resolved to invoke its powers to compel his appearance, following his failure to honour previous invitations, which he attributed to medical and family-related circumstances.
How the committee responded
Dankwambo explained that the disputed figure arose from two major entries — 103 trillion naira and 107 trillion naira — appearing on opposite sides of the balance sheet, which add up to 210 trillion naira but leave an accounting difference of 4 trillion naira requiring reconciliation.
The chairman cautioned that the committee would reach no conclusion until the figures had been thoroughly examined. "We will look at the figures, we will interrogate the figures. It is not over," he said.
Kyari also defended payments of about 2.99 billion naira connected with the incorporation of NNPC Limited, saying the sum covered statutory payments to government institutions including the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Corporate Affairs Commission, and rejected claims that 5 billion naira was spent on changing the company's name.
What happens next
The committee discharged Kyari pending further consideration of his written response, and is expected to reconvene to examine his submissions and seek further clarification where necessary before reporting its findings.
Credit: News Agency of Nigeria reports of November 10, 2026, of the Senate Public Accounts Committee sitting in Abuja. Follow @newstweetnaija on Instagram for the day's biggest stories.
