The Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC), has threatened to issue warrants for the arrest of the chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Patroleum Company Limited, Malam Mele Kyari over their failure to respond to audit queries issued them by the Auditor General for the Federation.
Also listed for arrest for the same offence, are the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, Heads of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), FCT Internal Revenue Service, and Nigerian Communications Satellite Company (NIGCOMSAT).
The chairman of the SPAC, Senator Ahmed Wadada, who read the riot act at a media briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, accused the agencies of consistently dodging audit queries raised by the Auditor General for the Federation (AuGF) in his Annual Audit Reports.
According to Wadada, heads of the listed agencies have consistently spurned invitations to appear before the Senate committee, to answer audit queries raised against their respective agencies from 2019 to date.
The chairman declared that the committee decided to draw the battle line with the “recalcitrant” agencies for serially disrespecting the Senate panel.
He said it was unacxeptable that heads of some of the agencies had spurned the committee’s summons for more than eight times, listing FIRS, CBN and Customs as “worst culprits.”
Wadada said, “Today marks the day that this committee has decided to draw a line going forward. Draw a line in the discharge of the responsibilities bestowed on this committee by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Going forward, it is important for those of us that are here and the entire Nigerian public to know that quite a number of agencies that are significant and relevant to the project called Nigeria have been evasive and also have avoided appearance before this committee, either to respond to Auditor General’s query or to respond on status enquiry.
“It is pertinent to know that nobody in Nigeria is above the law. We are all supposed to operate under the laws guiding our various engagements as citizens of Nigeria.”
Senator Wadada said the committee would soon reach out to President Bola Tinubu to demand sanctions against heads of agencies who spurned the SPAC’s summons.
The lawmaker stressed that if the President could show respect by coming to the National Assembly to present his budget proposals every year, then its disrespectful of the agency heads to ignore summons by the committee. “Whoever invitation is extended to and he or she refuses to appear before this all important committee, warrant of arrest will be issued and we will call on the president to disengage that person because the person does not share in the dreams of Mr. President to make Nigeria a better place.
“Permit me to say that from inception of this committee to date, more than eight invitations have been extended to the chairman of FIRS who has intentionally refused to appear before this committee and also hasn’t been responding to communications from this committee.
“If he truly shares the dream of the president’s renewed hope agenda, I wonder why he will not come here for us to exchange what we have going forward to make Nigeria a better place. He should also be reminded that we on this side of the divide, are sitting on mandates not appointments.
“We were not appointed, we were elected by Nigerians and so if he does not have respect for the mandate given to us by Nigerians, he should have respect for the mandate given to his boss that appointed him.
“The line is drawn between this committee and the FIRS. The next appointment, I mean invitation that is given or communication sent to him and he does not respond, warrant of arrest will be issued and we will call on the president to say that your appointee in FIRS does not share your dream and he is not helping your situation so get him out of there.”
On the NNPC, the committee said the few communications responded to by the company were neither here nor there, stressing that the company’s GMD will be arrested if he ignored the next invitation.
The committee chairman said the CBN has questions to answer regarding funds linked to the notorious Ways and Means financing and other alleged financial malfeasances.
“In fact, stakeholders in the finance sector came together and wrote to CBN that CBN has to conform to all the words of the letter. But nothing has still happened. Every day, every month, the Central Bank still charges a consolidated revenue funds account with N650 billion.
“For us to interact, sit, interface with Central Bank to know how and why, has not been possible. Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited has been invited over nine times to answer to the queries of the Auditor General for the Federation. Not a single appearance.
“Nigerian Police Force has never appeared before this committee despite all communications. To just respond to queries that emanated from the Auditor General’s report. But the Nigerian Police Force, when they invite and you don’t go, they don’t take it lightly.
I don’t know why they are not coming to this committee. The public should know.
“The FCT Internal Revenue Service has also been averse. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and quite a number of them. But like I said earlier on, the line is now drawn for those that have Auditor General’s queries.
“If we invite again, you do not appear, we will sustain the queries. And use the instruments and instrumentality of governance available to us by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Wadada said.