By Nathaniel Zaccheaus, Abuja
The Senate on Wednesday drew a constitutional battle line with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and about 40 other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), resolving to invoke its powers to compel them to appear before the National Assembly over alleged failure to account for public revenues and repeated disregard for legislative summons.
The upper chamber warned that no government agency was above parliamentary oversight, insisting that persistent refusal to honour invitations by its Committee on Finance amounted to a direct challenge to the constitutional authority of the National Assembly and would attract appropriate sanctions.
The resolution followed a motion moved by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, who accused several revenue-generating agencies of frustrating an ongoing investigation into internally generated revenue, operating surpluses, stamp duty collections and statutory remittances to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).
Musa told lawmakers that the committee was acting strictly within the powers conferred on the National Assembly by Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empower it to investigate the finances and administration of public institutions, summon witnesses and demand relevant documents.
He said, “As part of our constitutional mandate under Sections 88 and 89 of the Constitution, the Senate Committee on Finance conducts periodic investigative hearings to examine the financial operations of Government-Owned Enterprises and Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
“The exercise is aimed at scrutinising internally generated revenue, stamp duty collections where applicable, operating surpluses and statutory remittances into the Consolidated Revenue Fund,” he said.
The committee chairman lamented that despite repeated invitations, many of the agencies had either failed to appear before the committee or declined to provide the financial records requested.
“More concerning is that some have taken the position that they are under no obligation to appear before the committee or submit the requested information, notwithstanding the clear constitutional and statutory powers vested in the National Assembly to conduct oversight over the finances and administration of public institutions,” he said.
According to him, the agencies’ conduct undermined legislative oversight and threatened accountability in the management of public resources.
“These developments constitute a serious challenge to the effective discharge of the committee’s oversight responsibilities and undermine the constitutional authority of the Senate.
“If left unchecked, they could erode legislative oversight, weaken fiscal accountability and diminish transparency in the management of public resources,” he warned.
Musa also alleged widespread abuse of revenue retention by several government agencies, accusing them of violating the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Finance Act 2022.
“These are agencies that collect revenue for government, and the Fiscal Responsibility Act as well as the Finance Act 2022 direct that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies must comply with the financial regulations on remittances.
“Most of them don’t comply. Instead of remitting what is required by law, they retain the larger percentage of the revenue and remit only a fraction. We need to call them to order,” he said.
The Niger East senator further disclosed that preliminary findings by the committee suggested that some agencies had allegedly withheld government funds for years.
“We will request that they come for scrutiny so that the Fiscal Responsibility Commission can carry out reconciliation, after which we will require them to refund the money as quickly as possible. Some have been holding these funds since 2020,” he added.
Backing the motion, Senate President Godswill Akpabio firmly rejected claims by some agencies that Senate committees lacked the constitutional authority to summon them, insisting that the powers of the National Assembly in that regard were not open to debate.
He said, “What we are talking about is that they are saying the Senate Committee does not have the power to invite them. But the Senate has the power. The National Assembly has the power.
“We have the powers enshrined in the Constitution to invite them,” Akpabio declared.
He directed the Finance Committee to return to the Senate with a substantive motion empowering the chamber to compel the attendance of all defaulting agencies.
“Come with a substantive motion. One of the prayers should be to compel them to appear before the National Assembly through your committee,” he said.
Akpabio further warned that any agency that continued to ignore legislative summons would face constitutional consequences.
“If eventually they do not appear, we know the appropriate action to take,” he said.
Among the agencies listed for appearance are the CBN, NNPCL, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Nigerian Railway Corporation, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
Others are the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), National Examinations Council (NECO), and the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).
They also included the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), alongside several other government agencies.
The Senate subsequently adopted the motion through a voice vote, setting the stage for the issuance of formal summons to the affected agencies as lawmakers vowed to strengthen fiscal discipline, transparency and accountability in the management of public finances.
