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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts (PAC) has rejected the submissions of the National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Group Managing Director (GMD), Mele Kyari, on behalf of 17 subsidiaries of the Corporation.
The Committee at an investigative hearing in Abuja insisted that the 17 subsidiaries must appear themselves to respond to audit queries on alleged infractions between 2014 to 2019.
The chairman of the panel Wole Oke accused the NNPC of allegedly shielding the subsidiaries from legislative scrutiny.
‘Yes, you have submitted a consolidated account. But the Auditor General who submitted his report on us audited, conducted an audit pursuant to section 85 of the constitution and audited the account of these subsidiaries, publish the report and submitted same to the parliament.
‘The report specifically mentioned these subsidiaries and having done so, the parliament is duty-bound to take the queries and observations as contained in the report. Aside from this, parliament can also pursuant to the provisions of the constitution invite anybody to give evidence before this parliament.
‘If a particular agency under your leadership is mentioned, we cannot shave their head in their absence. They have to be here. Yes, you have rendered your account which is before us. But these subsidiaries must appear before this parliament to answer the queries raised by the Auditor-General for the Federation. They have to answer their father’s name.
‘With due respect, the NNPC is not in a position to dictate to parliament how it conducts its business. We have to change the impression of Nigerians about NNPC. We have listened to the comments of some governors about NNPC and we must change the narration by telling Nigerians that NNPC operates transparently.
‘Except and except you have something to hide, then you can continue to shield these subsidiaries. But they must appear before Nigerians and tell them about the funds in their kitty. They have to come here and answer the queries about the abnormalities the Auditor general observed in their operations. This is our position,’ Oke said.
However, Kyari said the corporation has nothing to hide, noting that its accounts are a true reflection of its transactions.
According to him, ‘NNPC has nothing to hide. We have nothing to hide from Nigerians. In view of that, we have published the same audited account that you have for Nigerians to see, read and comment on.
‘The account is a complete reflection of all our transactions, including our subsidiary companies. So, we are hiding nothing from Nigerians.’
