Reps committee summons Ojulari on NNPC 2021 audit, sets December 15 deadline

The house of representatives public account committee has summoned Bayo Ojulari, the group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

The committee issued the summons on Monday following Ojulari’s failure to appear before the panel.

In a letter read by Bamidele Salam, the committee’s chairman, Ojulari cited a meeting at Aso Rock as the reason for his absence.

Members of the committee described the letter as an excuse, disrespectful to the parliament and obstructive to the audit process.

Umar Faruk, NNPCL’s national assembly liaison officer, pleaded with the committee to grant a final extension to the corporation’s GCEO.

Salam criticised Ojulari for “repeatedly” ignoring the committee’s summons and failing to provide the requested documents despite several reminders.

He warned that disregard for legislative oversight would no longer be tolerated.

“Remember, the committee is very busy. We are dealing with so many issues. If you have been here in the last couple of weeks, you would understand the volume of matters before us,” the lawmaker said.

The committee chairman ruled that the NNPCL GCEO must appear on December 15 to answer audit queries raised by the auditor-general’s office over the company’s 2021 expenditure.

Salam said Ojulari should submit all documents related to the company’s expenditure records within the period under review.

Ojulari is expected to respond to queries from the auditor-general, including alleged payments to contractors for abandoned projects, failure to deduct statutory taxes, and irregular disbursements reportedly approved by the chief finance officer.

TheCable