The Senate on Wednesday resolved to summon the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and about 40 other Ministries, Departments and Agencies over their alleged failure to honour invitations to account for public funds.
The resolution followed a motion by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, who accused the affected agencies of frustrating legislative oversight by refusing to appear before the committee investigating revenue remittances, operating surpluses and compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act and other financial regulations.
Musa said the committee was exercising its constitutional mandate under Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empower the National Assembly to investigate the finances and administration of public institutions.
He explained that the ongoing probe focuses on internally generated revenue, operating surpluses, statutory remittances into the Consolidated Revenue Fund and stamp duty collections where applicable.
The lawmaker, however, lamented that despite repeated invitations, several agencies had either failed to appear or declined to submit requested financial records.
According to him, some agencies had taken the position that they were not obligated to honour invitations from the Senate Committee on Finance, a stance he described as a direct challenge to the constitutional oversight powers of the National Assembly.
Musa warned that continued non-compliance could weaken legislative oversight, fiscal accountability and transparency in the management of public resources.
He also alleged that some revenue-generating agencies had breached the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Finance Act 2022 by retaining government revenue instead of remitting it as required by law.
He disclosed that some of the outstanding funds had allegedly been withheld since 2020, adding that the committee would work with the Fiscal Responsibility Commission to reconcile the accounts and recover all outstanding remittances.
Supporting the motion, Senate President Goodswill Akpabio dismissed claims that Senate committees lacked the authority to summon government agencies.
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“The National Assembly has the constitutional powers to invite them,” Akpabio said.
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He directed the Committee on Finance to present a substantive motion empowering the Senate to compel the defaulting agencies to appear before the National Assembly.
Akpabio also warned that agencies that continued to ignore legislative invitations would face appropriate constitutional sanctions.
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The agencies listed for summons include the CBN, NNPCL, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Nigerian Railway Corporation, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Transmission Company of Nigeria, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation, Nigerian Export-Import Bank, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NNPCL Retail Limited, Nigerian Commodity Exchange, Nigerian Ports Authority, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, National Examinations Council, National Inland Waterways Authority, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited, Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Nigerian Meteorological Agency, National Insurance Commission, Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, among others.
The Senate subsequently adopted the motion by voice vote, paving the way for the formal summons of the affected agencies as part of efforts to strengthen fiscal accountability and legislative oversight of public finances.
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