The Senate on Thursday formally dissociated itself from the arrest warrant issued by its Committee on Public Accounts against former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari .
The upper chamber also distanced itself from remarks made by Senator Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North), who had described the NNPCL as “a bunch of criminals and thieves” during Wednesday’s committee hearing .
The resolution followed a motion by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele during plenary, who cited Orders 41 and 51 of the Senate standing rules . Bamidele argued that pursuant to Sections 4, 5, and 6 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, the authority to issue a warrant compelling a witness’s attendance is vested exclusively in the Senate President .
“Any attempt by a Senate committee to independently issue or execute a warrant of arrest without authorisation from the Senate President could amount to an unlawful exercise of power,” Bamidele warned .
Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin backed the motion, stressing that committees are subordinate to the Senate and may only make recommendations .
The committee had earlier ordered Kyari’s arrest over his failure to honour invitations regarding an alleged N210 trillion audit query from the Auditor-General of the Federation covering 2017 to 2023 .
Defending his comments, Oshiomhole said he acted under provocation after NNPCL officials allegedly denigrated lawmakers. “If it is the view of the Senate that I should apologise, I have no problem with that,” he said .
Senator Adamu Aliero described Oshiomhole’s statement as “reckless,” warning it could damage Nigeria’s investment image, while Senator Orji Uzor Kalu urged him to publicly withdraw the remark .
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