The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has issued a final 72-hour ultimatum to key government agencies, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), demanding their appearance over unanswered audit queries.
The committee issued the warning after representatives of the invited agencies failed to appear at its Monday meeting and did not provide any official explanation for their absence.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, said the invitations were part of efforts to improve legislative oversight and reduce the backlog of issues requiring attention.
“We wanted to reduce the volume of work to enhance our oversight. The letters and invitations were issued, but our guests have not arrived,” Dankwambo said.
Members of the committee expressed anger over what they described as a disregard for the authority of the National Assembly.
Senator Babangida Hussaini said government agencies were obligated to respond to parliamentary inquiries, warning that continued failure to appear would no longer be tolerated.
“The committee has powers, and it is most disrespectful to the National Assembly for any agency to fail to appear to respond to audit queries.
”This committee needs to take drastic action. The Senate is being taken for granted, and that must stop forthwith,” Hussaini stated.
Another committee member, Sevator Patrick Ndubueze, called for strict measures against agencies that ignored official invitations without explanation.
He argued that agencies that refused to honour the summons should face consequences rather than receive repeated invitations.
“The proper consequences should be laid down and carried out. They don’t deserve a second chance,” Ndubueze said.
After deliberations, the committee resolved that the affected agencies must appear before it by August 6 to address the outstanding audit matters.
The senators warned that failure to comply with the deadline could trigger further legislative action.
The move highlighted the Senate’s renewed push to strengthen accountability and ensure that public institutions respond to oversight processes, especially on issues involving government funds and operations.
