The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has handed a final 72-hour ultimatum to several top government bodies, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC)—demanding their appearance over outstanding audit queries by 6 August.
The decision was taken during a Monday sitting after representatives from the summoned agencies failed to attend the oversight meeting or provide any formal reason for their absence, according to a report by Channels TV.
Key lawmakers expressed strong indignation at the non-appearance, describing it as an affront to legislative authority:
In disrespect to Parliament: Senator Babangida Hussaini called for decisive measures, stating, “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.”
On enforcing sanctions: Echoing the need for strict penalties without further leniency, Senator Patrick Ndubueze remarked, “The proper consequences should be laid down and carried out. They don’t deserve a second chance. If they can’t attend to this important arm of government after invitations were sent and no explanations were given, they don’t deserve another chance.”
On legislative duty: Committee Chairman Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo explained that the summonses were issued to streamline their constitutional oversight duties, noting, “We wanted to reduce the volume of work to enhance our oversight. The letters and invitations were issued, but our guests have not arrived.”
Following the deliberations, the panel warned that non-compliance with the new deadline could trigger severe legislative sanctions against the defaulting agencies.