The Senate on Thursday disagreed with the decision of its Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to issue a warrant of arrest against a former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Mele Kyari, over his failure to appear before the committee.
The upper chamber held that the power to authorise such a measure rests solely with the presiding officer of the Senate, in line with its rules and constitutional provisions.
Consequently, the Senate withdrew the threat of arrest against Mr Kyari and directed that no committee should issue such a directive in the future without the approval of the senate president.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the resolution after it was adopted by a majority of senators through a voice vote during plenary.
The PAC initially issued the arrest threat during its meeting on Wednesday, after Mr Kyari failed to honour several invitations to explain the alleged ₦210 trillion discrepancy flagged in reports submitted by the Auditor-General of the Federation covering the period between 2017 and 2023.
The matter was raised by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, through a point of order under Orders 41 and 51 of the Senate Standing Rules, which allow senators to present matters of urgent national importance even when they are not listed on the Order Paper.
Mr Bamidele, while moving the motion, said the outcome of the committee’s proceedings and certain remarks made by some senators, particularly the senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, who described NNPC Ltd officials as a “bunch of criminals and thieves,” could negatively portray Nigeria before the international community, given the strategic role of the national oil company in the country’s economy.
He therefore urged the Senate to dissociate itself from the remarks and withdraw the threat of arrest against the former NNPC chief.
When the motion was put to a vote, it received the support of the majority of senators.
Mr Oshiomhole, however, clarified that his remarks were made in the heat of the moment and out of provocation during the committee’s proceedings.
