The Senate has dissociated itself from the warrant of arrest issued against the former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mele Kyari, by its Committee on Public Accounts.

The upper legislative chamber also distanced itself from comments attributed to Senator Adams Oshiomhole, representing Edo North, who reportedly described the NNPCL as a “bunch of criminals and thieves” during the committee’s investigative hearing.

The Senate took the position on Thursday after the matter was raised on the floor by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, APC, Ekiti Central, through a point of order relying on Orders 41 and 51 of the Senate Standing Rules.

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts had on Wednesday ordered Kyari’s arrest following his failure to appear before it at an investigative hearing on alleged unaccounted funds involving the NNPCL.

The committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, was probing issues relating to the financial records of the national oil company, including the alleged unaccounted ₦210 trillion covering transactions between 2017 and 2023.

The arrest warrant was said to have been issued over Kyari’s physical absence from the investigative session.

However, Bamidele argued that no Senate committee has the power to independently issue, authorise or execute a warrant of arrest against any person.

He asked the Senate to reaffirm that, under Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, the authority to issue a warrant compelling the attendance of any witness before the Senate or any of its committees is vested exclusively in the President of the Senate.

Following deliberation, the Senate resolved that no committee shall purport to issue, authorise or execute any warrant except in strict compliance with the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act and with the approval of the Senate President.

The resolution effectively distances the Senate as an institution from the arrest warrant earlier announced by the Public Accounts Committee.

The Senate also disowned the alleged remarks credited to Oshiomhole against the NNPCL, making it clear that the comments did not represent the position of the upper legislative chamber.

Oshiomhole, who was accused of using unparliamentary language during the hearing, however, defended himself, saying he spoke under provocation while trying to protect the integrity of the Senate.

Kyari had earlier denied deliberately avoiding the Senate investigation, saying he was outside the country for medical treatment and had informed the committee of his situation.

He also maintained that he was willing to appear before the committee upon his return to Nigeria and that all transactions carried out during his tenure at NNPCL were properly documented and available for scrutiny.

With Thursday’s resolution, the Senate has clarified that while committees may summon witnesses and conduct investigations, the power to issue warrants must follow statutory procedure and cannot be exercised independently by any committee without the approval of the Senate President.

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