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The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, has again snubbed the Nigerian Senate Committee on Public Accounts, despite a 10-day ultimatum issued to him over unaccounted funds totalling ₦210 trillion.
However, the NNPCL GCEO sent representatives to the hearing on Thursday, who the committee declined to engage.
The committee chaired by Aliyu Wadada insisted that only the group’s chief himself must appear to address the 11 critical financial queries raised in the company’s audited statements between 2017 and 2023.
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The lawmakers described Ojulari’s continued absence as a direct attack on the authority of the National Assembly and a breach of its oversight responsibilities.
Senator Wadada, therefore, warned that the Senate would not tolerate further disregard and vowed to issue a new date for the NNPCL GCEO to appear in person.
Recall that the Nigerian Senate had issued NNPCL management an ultimatum to appear before it.
However, Chief Financial Officer of NNPCL, Dapo Segun, had earlier explained that the state-owned company’s management had a retreat, which was the reason they did not appear before the Senate Committee.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has alleged that corrupt politicians are now hiding stolen public funds in cryptocurrencies to evade probes.
Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, made the allegation during an AU Anti-Corruption Day event on Thursday in Ibadan.
Represented by the Commission’s Acting Zonal Director in its Ibadan office, Hajiya Hauwa Ringim, the anti-graft agency boss said that virtual assets were becoming a preferred channel for hiding illicit wealth.
Olukoyede described virtual assets as digital monetary representations that could be traded or transferred, stressing that while not criminal, they become dangerous when used fraudulently.
He also bemoaned Africa’s growing loss to illicit financial flows, listing money laundering and digital fraud schemes as major threats to the continent’s development.
