The immediate past Group Managing Director (GMD) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has honoured the invitation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following an ongoing investigation.
Reports on Wednesday quoted an anonymous source at the EFCC to have confirmed Kyari’s appearance its headquarters in Abuja.
The development comes days after the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the temporary freezing of four Jaiz Bank accounts linked to Mele Kyari over allegations of fraud.
Justice Emeka Nwite made the order after the EFCC’s lawyer, Ogechi Ujam, moved an ex parte motion to that effect.
Kyari’s troubles followed the alarm raised by the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Aliyu Wadada, alleging discrepancies involving trillions of Naira in the audited financial statements of NNPCL.
The Committee described the revelations as mind-boggling and worrisome, emphasizing that the concerns stem from its analysis of NNPCL’s audited financial statements from 2017 to 2023.
The committee immediately handed over a list of 11 queries to the NNPCL finance team with a one-week deadline for response.
That was months after President Bola Tinubu approved the reconstitution of the NNPCL board, removing the chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure, and the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari.
The restructuring affected all other board members appointed alongside Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023