By Bosun Obafemi
The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and several other government agencies to appear before it over their failure to respond to audit queries.
The directive followed the agencies’ failure to honour invitations to appear before the committee on Monday, with none providing any formal explanation for their absence.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, said the invitations formed part of the committee’s constitutional oversight responsibility and efforts to expedite the consideration of pending audit issues.
“We wanted to reduce the volume of work to enhance our oversight. The letters and invitations were issued, but our guests have not arrived,” he said.
Committee members condemned the agencies’ absence, describing it as a disregard for the authority of the National Assembly.
Senator Babangida Hussaini said it was “most disrespectful” for any government agency to ignore the committee’s invitation, insisting that the Senate should no longer be taken for granted.
Senator Patrick Ndubueze also called for sanctions against the defaulting agencies, arguing that they had no justification for failing to appear or communicate their reasons for being absent.
Following deliberations, the committee gave the agencies a final 72-hour ultimatum to appear before it on August 6, warning that failure to comply could attract further legislative action.
