Tension is mounting over the Senate’s investigation into the Legacy Fund. At the heart of the standoff is the Senate’s insistence that the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr. Bayo Ojulari, must appear in person. The reason is staggering: the Senate is probing unprecedented discrepancies in NNPCL’s legacy audit reports, totalling a confounding ₦200 trillion.

The tension escalated penultimate week as the Senate Committee on Public Accounts once again rejected Ojulari’s absence from its high-profile inquiry. In a session broadcast live on Channels Television, lawmakers refused to engage with the delegation sent by NNPCL and reaffirmed their demand for Ojulari’s physical presence.

“The continuous refusal of Mr. Ojulari to honour the summons of this Committee amounts to a direct affront to the authority of the National Assembly,” said Senator Aliyu Wadada, Chairman of the Senate Public Accounts Committee. “This Committee will not tolerate further disregard. We will issue a new date, and failure to comply will compel us to invoke our constitutional powers, including the possibility of sanctions.”

At stake are 11 audit queries in NNPCL’s financial statements—transactions that predate Ojulari’s appointment. Yet, today, the issue has become a potent symbol of Nigeria’s enduring struggle with transparency and accountability in its petroleum sector.

This is, by all indications, a classic case of a legacy issue confronting a new leadership era.

Ojulari, a respected industry professional, was appointed only recently and has yet to be fully briefed on the sprawling details of the inherited financial records. According to senior NNPCL officials, the GCEO has been working intensively to piece together a comprehensive picture of the transactions under scrutiny.

“Mr. Ojulari takes this investigation with the utmost seriousness,” said a senior NNPCL official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “But he cannot be expected to provide credible answers about transactions he neither initiated nor approved without first conducting an internal audit. Delegating senior management to meet with the Senate was not an act of evasion—it was the responsible course of action.”

Such approaches are not without precedent. In major democracies like the United States and the United Kingdom, newly appointed CEOs or agency heads are routinely granted time to conduct internal reviews, while relevant directors or CFOs appear before legislative committees to clarify legacy matters.

“Globally, legislatures respect the principle that accountability must be informed by knowledge,” said Dr. Charles Amaife, a U.S.-based governance scholar. “If you compel a new CEO to testify before he’s properly briefed, you risk turning oversight into theatre rather than substance.”

Yet, Amaife’s reasoned perspective seems to fall on deaf ears at the Senate. For many lawmakers, the issue is as much about principle as it is about procedure. Senator Wadada was emphatic in rejecting what he described as a pattern of deferral.

“This Committee has shown restraint,” he stated. “We issued a 10-day ultimatum and received a delegation instead. Let it be clear: only the Chief Executive of NNPCL is competent to address the questions before us.”

Privately, other senators expressed concern about setting a precedent where new officeholders could indefinitely avoid scrutiny by citing a lack of briefing. Still, there is recognition—both inside and outside the Committee—that Ojulari is not shirking responsibility. He is neither the architect nor the executor of the transactions under probe.

Behind the scenes, NNPCL officials are appealing to both lawmakers and the public to recognise the unique circumstances surrounding Ojulari’s tenure.

“This is not about defiance,” another official stressed. “It’s about ensuring that when the GCEO appears, he is equipped with facts, not conjecture. Nigerians deserve accurate answers, not hurried statements.”

While NNPCL has not issued an official response to the Senate’s warning, sources close to Ojulari confirmed he is prepared to honour the next summons once his internal review is complete.

As the Senate prepares to announce a new hearing date, the impasse highlights a broader institutional tension—how to balance rigorous oversight with operational fairness. Analysts warn that effective accountability requires both urgency and due process.

“It is in the national interest that NNPCL’s leadership be given time—within reasonable limits—to prepare for such consequential testimony,” said Gbenga Adewunmi, a lawyer and corporate finance expert. “Otherwise, the process risks losing credibility.”

For now, all eyes remain on Abuja. Should the GCEO appear fully briefed at the next hearing, it could mark not only a turning point in the ₦200 trillion investigation but also a moment to reset expectations about transparency and governance in Nigeria’s most strategic company.