Senate Public Accounts Committee has threatened to order the arrest of any Chief Executive Officer of an MDA who, from now on, fails to honour invitations to present their defense before the committee.
Alfijir labarai report the committee will proceed to consider the audit queries as outlined in the Auditor-General’s Annual Report.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Ahmad Aliyu Wadada, made the remarks in Abuja while expressing the Committee’s displeasure with the attitudes of some government agencies that fail to respond to its invitations.
Senator Ahmed Wadada explained that the 10th National Assembly was compelled to address newsmen on the obvious attitude of some Chief Executive Officers and Accounting Officers.
Wadada argued that Section 62(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, states: “The Senate or the House of Representatives may appoint a committee of its members for such special or general purposes as, in its opinion, would be better regulated and managed by means of such a committee, and may, by resolution, regulation, or otherwise, as it thinks fit, delegate any functions exercisable by it to any such committee.”
He added that Provisions of Sections 88 and 89 of the Constitution vested the Public Accounts Committee with the mandate of ensuring accountability and transparency in the management of the public accounts of the Federation.
The Chairman recalled that the Committee commenced the consideration of the Audit Report in October, 2023, with a view to presenting its report to the Plenary.
He, however, said some agencies have willfully failed to honour invitations to defend their written responses to the audit queries as submitted to the Committee Secretariat.
Wadada said beside the demand for submission of written responses to audit queries, part of the Committee’s rules of engagement requires that Accounting Officers attend the Committee’s Public Hearing to respond to questions arising from the analysis of their submissions which in turn forms a basis for informed decision on the matter by the Committee.
He said the desire of the Public Committee to timely discharge its constitutional and legislative function was being hindered by the evasive and negative actions of some CEOs Or accounting officers of the concerned MDAs.
According to him, the Committee is very displeased with the attitude of foot dragging by agencies who are by law, expected to respond to parliamentary invitations and account for their actions.
The chairman of the committee also noted that this action by the concerned MDAs impacts on the Committee’s calendar and plan to submit its report to Senate Plenary.
Senator Ahmed Wadada stated that the agencies in question include the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (formerly known as the DPR), and the Nigeria Police Force.
Others are Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade & Investment, the FCT Internal Revenue Service ,the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs,
Ministry of Defence, the Nigeria Communications Satellite Limited
and others.
The Committee has powers to consider and inquire into the Report of the Auditor-General for the Federation on the Accounts of the Federation and to also embark on status inquiry on revenue generation and expenditures of the accounts of the Federation.
The Chairman, however, explained that the Committee resolved that, moving forward, this resolution would be added to the Senate’s rules of engagement if MDAs continue to neglect attending its invitations.
RN
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