The Senate has summoned the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, and roughly 40 other Ministries, Departments and Agencies over their alleged failure to account for public funds, following what lawmakers described as a pattern of ignoring official invitations to appear before its Finance Committee.
The resolution was adopted on Wednesday after a motion by Senator Sani Musa, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, who accused the affected agencies of obstructing legislative oversight by declining to appear before the panel investigating revenue remittances, operating surpluses, and compliance with fiscal laws.
Musa grounded the committee’s authority in Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution, which empower the National Assembly to probe the finances of public institutions, and explained that the hearings are meant to scrutinise internally generated revenue, stamp duty collections, operating surpluses, and statutory remittances into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Despite repeated invitations, he said, many agencies either refused to appear or ignored the committee outright, with some insisting they are under no obligation to do so. He warned that such defiance could weaken fiscal accountability, erode legislative oversight, and reduce transparency in managing public resources.
Musa further alleged that several revenue-generating agencies are breaching the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Finance Act 2022 by withholding government revenue instead of remitting it to the Federation’s coffers, retaining the bulk of what they collect and remitting only a fraction. Some agencies, he said, have withheld funds owed to the Federal Government since 2020.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio backed the committee, rejecting claims that Senate panels lack the power to summon agencies, insisting the National Assembly’s constitutional powers are clear. He directed the Finance Committee to return with a substantive motion to formally compel defaulting agencies to appear, warning that continued defiance would attract constitutional consequences.
Agencies named include the CBN, NNPCL, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NIMASA, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Nigerian Railway Corporation, NERC, TCN, Federal Mortgage Bank, NAIC, NEXIM Bank, NNPCL Retail, Nigerian Ports Authority, SON, NUPRC, NMDPRA, JAMB, NECO, NIWA, NDIC, NIGCOMSAT, NEPZA, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, NiMet, NAICOM, NSITF, and NOSDRA, among others.
The Senate adopted the motion by voice vote, clearing the way for formal summons as part of a renewed push to strengthen fiscal accountability and oversight of public funds.
