The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has issued a final 72-hour ultimatum to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and several other government agencies to appear before it over unresolved audit queries.
The directive was issued on Monday after officials of the invited agencies failed to honour the committee’s summons and offered no formal explanation for their absence during the scheduled hearing. The committee warned that continued non-compliance could trigger legislative sanctions.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, said the hearing formed part of the Senate’s constitutional responsibility to scrutinise the management of public funds and ensure accountability by Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
“We wanted to reduce the volume of work to enhance our oversight. The letters and invitations were issued, but our guests have not arrived,” Dankwambo said.
Lawmakers expressed frustration over what they described as a disregard for the authority of the National Assembly.
Senator Babangida Hussaini described the agencies’ absence as an affront to the legislature.
“The committee has powers, and it is most disrespectful to the National Assembly for any agency to fail to appear to respond to audit queries. This committee needs to take drastic action. The Senate is being taken for granted, and that must stop forthwith,” he said.
Senator Patrick Ndubueze also called for sanctions against the defaulting agencies, arguing that they had failed to justify their absence despite receiving formal invitations.
“The proper consequences should be laid down and carried out. They don’t deserve a second chance. If they can’t attend to this important arm of government after invitations were sent and no explanations were given, they don’t deserve another chance,” he said.
Agencies given final deadline
Following deliberations, the committee resolved to issue what it described as a final 72-hour ultimatum, directing the affected agencies to appear before lawmakers on Thursday, August 6.
The lawmakers warned that failure to honour the summons could attract further legislative action as the Senate intensifies its oversight of public institutions and the management of government finances.
