The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has strongly criticized the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, for repeatedly failing to appear before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts.
In a statement issued on Friday and signed by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, James Ezema, the CNPP described Ojulari’s refusal to honour the Senate’s summons as an “unacceptable affront to the Nigerian legislature and, by extension, the Nigerian people.”
The group did not spare the National Assembly in its criticism, accusing lawmakers of fostering a culture of lawlessness among top government officials and agency heads.
It branded the Senate’s reaction to Ojulari’s absence as “laughable,” describing legislative probes as “theatrical performances with predetermined outcomes.”
“It is laughable to see the Senate Committee on Public Accounts wailing and issuing empty threats after being snubbed again by the NNPCL GCEO. The committee is merely reaping what the Senate has sown over the years,” the CNPP said.
The group alleged that the National Assembly has consistently failed in its constitutional duty of oversight, thereby emboldening heads of government agencies to defy legislative invitations without consequences.
Reaffirming its long-standing advocacy, the CNPP renewed calls for a sweeping judicial investigation into the NNPCL’s operations and finances covering the period from 2017 to 2024.
The group warned that the current management under Ojulari appears to be “setting new records in impunity and disrespect for institutional oversight.”
“It has become painfully obvious that the new management of the NNPCL is poised to break the records of the sacked Mele Kyari-led management team in impunity, lack of accountability, and total disregard for institutions with oversight powers over the Federal Government-owned oil company,” the statement said.
The CNPP further alleged that Ojulari’s refusal to engage with the Senate was part of a calculated effort to cover up massive financial misappropriations within the NNPCL, including a suspected N210 trillion that remains unaccounted for.
“The current delay tactics employed by the NNPCL are a clear and deliberate strategy to protect those who may have been involved in the suspected looting,” the group stated.
Citing years of unresolved issues, the CNPP demanded an independent audit of the NNPCL, particularly concerning allegations of zero remittances to the Federation Account, fraudulent refinery maintenance contracts, and controversial recruitment practices.
“The Senate has proven itself incapable of holding the NNPCL to account. The only path to uncovering the monumental fraud that has defined our oil and gas sector is through an independent, uncompromised, and transparent judicial probe,” the CNPP declared.
The group, alongside over 75 civil society organisations, called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately set up a judicial panel of inquiry with full powers to investigate the NNPCL.
“Anything less will confirm that the entire system is designed to protect powerful interests at the expense of national prosperity and accountability,” the statement concluded.