210 Trillion NNPCL Probe: Ex-CFO Dismisses Senate Inquiry as โWild Goose Chaseโ Against Kyari, Others
Proceedings at the Senate Committee on Public Accounts' investigation into the alleged N210 trillion unaccounted funds in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) turned tense on Wednesday as the company's former Chief Financial Officer, Dr. Umar Ajiya, accused lawmakers of pursuing what he described as a "wild goose chase" in their probe of the former management led by Mele Kyari.
The committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, resumed its examination of figures contained in NNPCL's audited financial statements covering the period from 2017 to 2023.
Lawmakers have maintained that a total of N210 trillion captured in the company's accounts remains inadequately explained. The amount comprises N103 trillion recorded as accrued expenses and N107 trillion classified as receivables.
The Senate panel had initially directed a series of questions to the current NNPCL management headed by Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, before extending its inquiry to former senior officials involved in the preparation and management of the accounts under review.
Appearing before the committee, Ajiya challenged the basis of some of the allegations, arguing that the Senate had been misinformed and that the investigation was founded innacurate by the company,'s book
Last Thursday night I ran out of fuel on Third Mainland Bridge.
11pm.
Phone at 2%.
No powerbank.
I want to tell you what happened next.
I pushed the hazard lights on and sat in the car.
Trying to think.
Cars were flying past me.
Nobody slowed down.
Not one person.
Lagos at night on that bridge is a different kind of alone.After about 15 minutes I saw headlights slow down behind me.
A danfo bus.
Old. Battered. One headlight slightly dim.
The driver came down.
Big man. Rough looking. Dirty shirt. Chewing something.
My first thought was fear.
My second thought was I had no choice.He looked at my car.
Looked at me.
Said "fuel?"
I nodded.
He didn't say anything else.
Just went back to his bus.
I thought he was leaving.
He wasn't.He came back with a small gallon.
Maybe two liters.
Old plastic container with a rubber pipe attached.
Like he kept it specifically for situations like this.
He poured it into my tank without being asked.
Without negotiating.
Without even looking at me for approval.I started the car.
It came on.
I came down immediately and opened my wallet.
I had โฆ15,000 on me.
I held it out to him.
He looked at the money.
Then looked at me.
And shook his head.I thought he wanted more.
I told him it was all I had.
He said "keep am."
Just like that.
Keep am.
I stood there confused.
This man just helped a stranger on a bridge at 11pm and didn't want anything.I asked him why.
He leaned against his bus.
Took a long breath.
And said something I have not stopped thinking about since.He said in 1998 he broke down on that same bridge.
Night time.
Pregnant wife in the passenger seat.
No phone. No money. No fuel.
He said he sat there for almost an hour crying and praying.Then a man in a big car stopped.
Suit and tie.
Looked like someone who had no business stopping for a danfo driver.
But he stopped.
Bought fuel from somewhere.
Came back.
Filled his tank.
Refused every kobo he offered.
Said only one thing before he drove off."Pass am forward."
That was it.
Pass am forward.
The man in the suit drove away and he never saw him again.
25 years he carried those three words.
Third Mainland Bridge.
Waiting for his own turn to use them.I stood on that bridge and didn't know what to say.
This man had been holding onto someone else's kindness for 25 years.
And he chose me to give it to.
A stranger in a car he had never seen before.He got back into his danfo.
Gave me one nod.
And drove off into the night.
I stood there watching his one dim headlight disappear.
Holding โฆ15,000 I couldn't give away.I sat back in my car for a long time before I drove off.
Thinking about the man in the suit in 1998.
Who had no idea what he started.
A chain of kindness that crossed 25 years and found me on the same bridge.I don't know who that danfo driver is.
I don't know his name.
But somewhere in Lagos tonight he is driving that old bus.
With one dim headlight.
And a heart that has been quietly changing lives since 1998.
Pass am forward.
*What are you passing forward today*?
Karma!!!!!
You will definitely reap something some day.
Depends on what you have been sowing!!!!
These black spots on onions are not dirt.
They are a type of fungi called Aspergillus niger that can shut down your kidneys and liver.
Make sure to wash them off thoroughly with concentrated salt water or vinegar.
๐โ MaritimeTuesday: Safety First
Did you know that 80% of maritime accidents are preventable?
Most are caused by human error, lack of drills, or ignoring safety rules.
โ Training.
โ PPE.
โ Emergency drills.
These simple steps save lives at sea.
Wherever life takes you, just be kind. Never mind if itโs not reciprocated. Do it for the sake of the Almighty and watch how your life takes on a different turn.
PMB's Funeral: 10 Things
1. Seven days of National Mourning, starting July 13, 2025. National Flag will fly at half-mast across the country.
2. Tuesday July 15 declared National Public Holiday.
3. A high-level @NigeriaGov delegation, led by the HEVP, will bring the body back from London, to Katsina, on Tuesday July 15. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, will personally receive the remains in Katsina.
4. PBAT has constituted an 18-member Inter-Ministerial Committee chaired by SGF, to oversee the State Burial, working with Gov @dikko_radda and Buhari family.
5. 25 FEC members have been directed to attend the funeral (Tue) and the 3rd-Day Prayers (Wed), in Daura.
6. Special Federal Executive Council (FEC) Meeting in honour of PMB will hold on Friday, July 18.
7. Funeral will be preceded by a military ceremony at the Katsina Airport.
8. Janaโiza (funeral prayer) will be followed by interment at Daura residence.
9. President has directed opening of Condolence Registers in all Federal MDAs, all Nigerian Embassies and Missions abroad, and the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja.
10. PMB died on July 13, 2025, at 82 years, 6 months and 26 days.
O Allah, forgive our former President and have mercy on him. Protect him and pardon him. Grant him an honourable reception, widen his grave, & make it a place of light and peace. Admit him into Jannatul al-Firdaus and reunite him with the righteous.
Aameen ya Hayyu ya Qaiyyum.