The Senate, through its Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday threatened sanctions against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
This followed the failure of the agencies to appear before a public hearing on audit queries arising from reports by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
The hearing, convened by the committee to examine issues raised in NEITI’s 2021, 2022 and 2023 audit reports on the oil and gas sector, suffered an early setback as none of the invited agencies attended the session.
Also absent at the hearing was NEITI, which authored the audit reports under review.
The committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwabo had scheduled a three-week investigative hearing expected to feature heads and management teams of agencies implicated in the reports.
Expressing displeasure over the absence of the agencies, the committee directed the managements of the CBN, NDDC and NUPRC to appear before it on Thursday, August 6, warning that failure to honour the summons would attract sanctions.
Dankwabo said the Senate would invoke relevant constitutional provisions and Senate rules against any agency that fails to comply with the directive.
A member of the committee, Senator Babangida Hussaini, urged the panel to invoke its constitutional powers against the defaulting agencies, describing their absence as a slight on the National Assembly.
“I rely on the constitutional provisions, Sections 47 and 60 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as the relevant provisions of our Standing Rules,” Hussaini said.
“The powers of this committee are derived from these provisions. It is a distraction to the institution of the National Assembly for any agency, by whatever name or designation, to refuse to appear and answer audit queries that have been validly raised.
“I think this committee is being taken for granted, and by extension, Nigerians are being taken for granted. The institutional integrity of the Senate is being undermined. Mr. Chairman, drastic measures need to be taken in line with our rules,” he added.
Another member of the committee, Senator Patrick Ndubueze, argued that the agencies should be sanctioned immediately rather than granted another opportunity to appear.
“This reflects the level of commitment of government agencies in this country. No letter was written. No excuse was offered. No representative was sent to appear before the committee to explain why the chief executives could not attend,” Ndubueze said.
“To me, they don’t deserve to be given any second chance of appearance,” he insisted.
Despite the absence of the agencies, the committee said it would continue with the hearing, with the National Security Adviser (NSA), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and other stakeholders expected to appear before it in subsequent sessions.
(The Whistler)