The Senate has threatened to invoke its constitutional powers against several revenue-generating Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), over their alleged refusal to honour invitations to explain their revenue remittances to the Federal Government.
The upper chamber said the affected agencies could face legislative sanctions if they continue to ignore summons issued by its Committee on Finance.
The warning followed a point of order raised on Wednesday by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), during plenary.
Musa said the committee was carrying out an investigation into the financial operations of government-owned enterprises and other MDAs to ascertain compliance with statutory revenue remittances into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
According to him, the exercise focuses on internally generated revenue, stamp duty collections where applicable, operating surpluses and compliance with provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Finance Act 2022.
He lamented that despite formal invitations, many agencies either failed to appear before the committee or outrightly declined to honour the summons.
The lawmaker said some agencies had gone as far as claiming they were under no obligation to appear before the Senate committee, a position he described as a direct challenge to the constitutional oversight powers of the National Assembly.
He warned that continued disregard for legislative invitations could undermine fiscal accountability, transparency and parliamentary oversight of public finances.
Musa further accused some revenue-generating agencies of retaining government revenues in violation of existing financial laws.
According to him, many of the agencies remit only a fraction of what they collect while holding on to substantial public funds that ought to have been paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
He identified the defaulting agencies as the NNPCL, TETFund, FAAN, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), CBN, Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), National Examinations Council (NECO), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, among others.
He alleged that some of the agencies had retained funds dating back to 2020.
“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,” Musa said.
He added that the committee would work with the Fiscal Responsibility Commission to reconcile the accounts before directing defaulting agencies to refund outstanding revenues.
Backing the committee’s position, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin said the National Assembly would not hesitate to compel the agencies to appear.
“If they don’t appear before the committee, we will summon them. It must work,” he said.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio also reaffirmed the constitutional authority of the National Assembly to summon public officials and agencies for oversight.
He dismissed claims that Senate committees lacked the legal powers to invite heads of government agencies.
“The Senate has the power. The National Assembly has the powers enshrined in the Constitution to invite them,” Akpabio said.
The Senate President directed the Finance Committee chairman to present a substantive motion seeking to compel the defaulting agencies to appear before the committee.
