Senate disowns Mele Kyari arrest warrant, rebukes Oshiomhole

The senate on Thursday dissociated itself from the warrant of arrest issued against Mele Kyari, former group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, by its committee on public accounts.

The upper legislative chamber also distanced itself from comments attributed to Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo north, who reportedly described the NNPC as a “bunch of criminals and thieves” during the committee’s hearing on Wednesday.

The matter came before the senate during plenary following a point of order raised by Opeyemi Bamidele, senate leader and senator representing Ekiti central, who cited orders 41 and 51 of the senate standing rules.

Bamidele urged the chamber to reaffirm that, under sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, only the senate president has the legal authority to issue a warrant compelling the attendance of any witness before the Senate or any of its committees.

He further called on the senate to make it clear that no committee has the power to issue, authorise or execute a warrant of arrest except in strict compliance with the law and with the approval of the senate president.

Following deliberations, lawmakers resolved that the purported warrant issued by the public accounts committee should be discountenanced, insisting that the committee had acted beyond its powers.

The senate also affirmed that remarks allegedly made by Oshiomhole during the hearing do not represent the official position, findings, resolutions or opinion of the chamber.

Lawmakers reiterated the senate’s commitment to the principles of fair hearing, due process, parliamentary objectivity, institutional neutrality and the presumption of innocence, stressing that the determination of criminal liability remains the exclusive responsibility of courts of competent jurisdiction.

The chamber further urged its committees and members to exercise restraint in public comments relating to ongoing investigations and avoid statements capable of prejudicing proceedings or creating the impression that conclusions had already been reached.

In addition, the Senate directed all committees to adhere strictly to the Constitution, the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act and the senate standing orders in carrying out investigative and oversight functions.

Contributing to the debate, Barau Jibrin, deputy senate president, said the public accounts committee had exceeded its mandate.

“I want to commend the Leader for performing his duty. Issuing warrants is what the Senate President should do. The committee overstepped its bounds. We should take this as a lesson,” he said.

Tahir Monguno, senate chief whip and senator representing Borno north, said the legislature must always be seen to operate within the confines of the law.

“The Senate, being the highest lawmaking body in this country, should not only be seen to be above board, but should be seen manifestly to be above board in conducting its constitutional roles,” he said.

Abba Moro, senate minority leader, urged lawmakers to avoid comments that could be interpreted as attacks on the character of public officials.

“We should not make statements that seek to impugn the characters of public officers. Nigerians are watching us every step of the way. I will advise all our colleagues to play by the rules of the game,” he said.

Adamu Aliero, senator representing Kebbi central, described Oshiomhole’s remarks on the NNPC as inappropriate and said the Senate should clearly distance itself from the comments.

“I want to add that the statement made by Distinguished Senator Adams Oshiomhole, with due respect, is reckless. It undermines not only the integrity of NNPC but also the Federal Government,” he said.

Orji Uzor Kalu, senator representing Abia north, also called on Oshiomhole to publicly withdraw the statement, arguing that it was wrong to criminalise the national oil company.

Responding after being given the right of reply by Godswill Akpabio, Oshiomhole noted that his reaction came in the heat of an exchange during the committee hearing.

He noted that a former finance official of the NNPC had made remarks he considered offensive to senators, prompting his response.

“I thought it is settled in law, the other side must be heard. Before motions are raised, I should be properly briefed,” Oshiomhole said.

“The immediate past finance officer of NNPC was asked to speak to the report. But he made comments saying, ‘Nobody has the monopoly of patriotism. It is you senators who send your children to work in NNPC’.

“On my choice of words, I reacted under extreme provocation. I have a duty to the Nigerian nation first. I acted under provocation because distinguished senators were being attacked.

While defending his reaction, the former Edo governor acknowledged that there are many responsible managers within the NNPC and insisted that his intervention was aimed at defending the integrity of the Senate during the hearing.

“You gave us a job to do. May it not be said that I was there when this senate was abused. There are many responsible managers in the NNPC,” he added.