The Senate on Thursday summoned the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, over an alleged N210tn expenditure by the national oil company between 2017 and 2023, which the lawmakers say has not been properly accounted for.

Invited alongside Kyari are the former Chief Financial Officer, Umar Isa, and the former Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, Bala Wunti.

The Senate committee handling the probe threatened to issue warrants of arrest against the former management officials if they fail to appear before it on a date to be communicated.

The committee also questioned why the national oil company allegedly spent about N5bn on the change of name from the defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to the Nigerian NNPC Limited.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Aliyu Wadada (Nasarawa West), read the resolutions to journalists. He said the summoned former management team should appear before the panel.

They are to come alongside the incumbent Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari.

Wadada stated: “NNPCL should refund the sum of N210tn, being the combined sum of N103tn and N107tn, which were not properly accounted for as contained in the audit reports. The NNPCL should and must account for the two figures.

“The second resolution of the committee is that the NNPCL should remit to the treasury all production costs charged against crude oil revenue for the period under review, since NNPCL and its subsidiaries, including NAPIMS, do not directly produce crude oil.

“Thirdly, the immediate past management of NNPCL and NAPIMS, which includes Mele Kyari as the then GCEO, Umar Ajia Isa as the then CFO, and Bala Wunti as the then GGM, NAPIMS, should appear before the committee and be led by the present management along with the external auditors that served within the period under review.

“Fourthly, the Auditor General for the Federation should carry out a forensic audit review of the audited financial statements of NNPCL for the period under review in line with Section 85 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended).”

He added that the committee considered the N5bn expenditure on the corporation’s name change unacceptable, adding that “Satisfactory explanations must be given.”

According to Wadada, the resolutions followed the inability of NNPCL to provide satisfactory responses to 19 questions raised by lawmakers from the audit report.

“NNPCL, in response, claimed the N103tn represented cumulative amounts expended by NNPCL Joint Venture partners from JV Cash Calls 2017. That response is unacceptable, and the figure of N103 trillion remains unresolved.

“The subsidy receivables, according to the audited financial statement of NNPCL, stood at N107tn. As of December 2023, NNPCL recorded N107tn as sundry receivables, some allegedly owed by different banks and other entities. When combined, NNPCL needs to properly account for N210tn,” he explained.

Despite the concerns, the committee reaffirmed its support for the administration of President Bola Tinubu, noting that the Federal Government remained committed to promoting transparency, probity, and accountability in the management of public funds.

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The Federal Government has said it now has the capacity to identify and apprehend foreigners who overstay their visas in the country.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during the 2026 Sectoral Performance Review Retreat of the Federal Ministry of Interior.

Tunji-Ojo said the government now possesses comprehensive data that enables authorities to track individuals who have entered the country over the past decade and determine those who have failed to comply with their visa conditions.

According to him, the development followed the establishment of an Integrated Operations Centre and a Network Operations Centre by the Nigeria Immigration Service.

The minister, however, said the FG will go after foreigners who have overstayed their visas, adding that outside of the country, Nigerians are not being spared.

He said, “In NIS, I know we are doing a lot already. As of today, we have been able to build our Integrated Operations Centre and the Network Operations Centre, which we never had before.

“With that, we can access, in the last 10 years, everybody who has entered, where you came from, everything, we have all your records, we have everything, we know the exact people who have overstayed in our country, and we will go after them, with due respect, because, outside of Nigeria, they go after the irregular immigrants and we think we have to protect the sanctity of our borders,” the minister stated.”

The minister also stressed the need for reforms across agencies under the ministry, including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, to ensure services are delivered transparently and without corruption.

Tunji-Ojo said the goal of government institutions should be to protect citizens, particularly the most vulnerable in society.

“NSCDC provides protection in an organised and corruption-free manner, where the son of a nobody will have the same opportunity as the son of anybody in government.

“If you are a businessman or there is a genuine threat to your life, you should be able to access protection without going through the minister, the Commandant General, or anyone else. It is only then that we can truly say we have a service that works for Nigerians.

“Nigeria should not be about selective service delivery. The essence of government is to protect everyone, with greater emphasis on protecting the weakest in society, ” he said.

Speaking on correctional reforms, he argued that a system where individuals repeatedly return to custody reflects a failure of rehabilitation.

“Anybody who goes in there must be reformed and transformed,” he said, adding that the objective was to reduce cases of repeat offences to the barest minimum.

In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Magdalene Ajani, emphasised the importance of accountability in leadership.

She said leadership was about “devotion, promises, performance, and impact,” noting that the ministry’s agencies play critical roles that affect the daily lives of Nigerians and therefore require transparency and effective service delivery.

The move to go after foreigners who overstay their visas comes amid renewed efforts by the Federal Government to strengthen border management and enforce immigration regulations across the country.

This definitely would allow immigration authorities to track the movement of travellers and identify individuals who remain in Nigeria beyond the duration permitted by their visas.

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The Kano State House of Assembly on Thursday commenced impeachment proceedings against the Deputy Governor, Aminu Abdulsalam, over alleged misconduct, abuse of office, and breach of public trust.

This development was contained in a report by Leadership Newspaper.

The impeachment notice was presented on the floor of the House by the Majority Leader, Lawan Dala, and read by Speaker Ismail Falgore during plenary.

According to the lawmakers, the action is grounded in Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution, which allows a state legislature to initiate impeachment proceedings against a deputy governor accused of gross misconduct.

A total of 38 lawmakers signed the impeachment notice, and Speaker Falgore has directed that Abdulsalam be formally served, in line with constitutional procedures.

The move comes amid simmering political tensions in Kano following Governor Abba Yusuf’s defection from the New Nigeria Peoples Party to the All Progressives Congress last year.

Deputy Governor Abdulsalam had opted not to follow the governor in the defection, choosing to remain with the NNPP.

His refusal reportedly deepened rifts within the state government, raising speculation about his political future and setting the stage for the current impeachment proceedings.

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