By Sunday Ameh
The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), and other defaulting agencies to appear before it over their failure to honour invitations to an audit hearing.
The committee issued the directive on Monday after the agencies failed to attend the opening session of a special legislative oversight and public hearing on NEITI’s oil and gas industry audit reports covering 2021, 2022 and 2023.
The hearing, which was convened to examine audit reports detailing operations, revenues, remittances, payments and financial obligations in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, was stalled due to the absence of key government agencies.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, expressed disappointment over the development, noting that more than 50 public institutions and oil and gas companies had been invited to participate in the hearing between August 3 and August 25.
According to him, the hearing was organised to reduce the backlog of pending audit matters and strengthen the Senate’s oversight responsibilities.
“We scheduled this hearing in order to reduce the volume of work before the National Assembly and to promote and enhance our oversight responsibilities,” Dankwambo said, adding that despite formal invitations and newspaper advertisements, the agencies failed to appear or provide any explanation.
Members of the committee condemned the absence of the agencies, describing it as disrespectful to the National Assembly and Nigerians.
Senator Babangida Hussaini said the failure of the agencies to appear amounted to undermining the integrity of the legislature.
“It is becoming embarrassing. Public funds have been expended, yet accounting for audit queries has become a problem,” he said.
Also speaking, Senator Patrick Ndubueze said the agencies did not deserve another opportunity after failing to honour the invitations without any official communication.
“If the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria invites the head of an agency and the person fails to appear, then something is fundamentally wrong,” he said.
Senator Nasiru Zangon-Daura also criticised the agencies for failing to notify the committee of their absence, saying they had shown little commitment to accountability.
Following deliberations, the committee resolved to give the affected agencies a final 72-hour ultimatum to appear before it on Thursday, August 6, 2026.
Dankwambo warned that any agency that fails to honour the rescheduled invitation could face sanctions in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Senate Standing Orders.
He also directed the committee’s secretariat to formally communicate the resolution to the affected agencies.
The committee is expected to continue the public hearing with other invited agencies, including the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), and the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC).
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