Using President Tinubu as an excuse for failing to appear before the committee should not be allowed to continue.
The Senate Public Accounts Committee has threatened to issue a warrant of arrest for Bayo Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), after he failed to appear for the fourth time over an audit query involving ₦210 trillion between 2017 and 2023. Ojulari claimed he missed the session due to an emergency summons from President Bola Tinubu.
Committee chairman Senator Aliyu Wadada ordered Ojulari to appear by 3 pm on Wednesday or face coercive measures. Senator Victor Umeh called the excuse “suspicious” and warned against using the presidency to evade accountability. Senator Joel-Onowakpo accused Ojulari of contempt, saying, “To me, the NNPCL boss thinks that he is bigger than this committee.” Senator Aminu Abbas added, “No GCEO is bigger than the national assembly.”
The audit covers ₦103 trillion in accrued expenses and ₦107 trillion in receivables flagged in the company’s financial report.