The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has expressed its frustration with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and several other government agencies for failing to address audit queries raised in the 2019 audit report.
During a briefing in Abuja, the committee’s chairman, Senator Ahmed Wadada (SDP-Nasarawa West), condemned the persistent refusal of these agencies to respond to the queries. He emphasized that this non-compliance hampers the efforts of the committee and undermines the goals of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Senator Wadada warned that in the future, any agency that fails to honor an invitation to defend its audit queries will have those queries sustained and reported to the Senate in plenary.
In addition to NNPCL and FIRS, other agencies accused of ignoring the audit queries include the Nigeria Police, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (formerly the Department of Petroleum Resources), and several federal ministries, among others.
The committee began reviewing the 2019 audit report in October 2023, with the intention of presenting its findings to the Senate. However, the refusal of some agencies to cooperate has delayed the process, causing significant frustration among the committee members.
Senator Wadada highlighted that the committee’s rules of engagement require accounting officers from the concerned agencies to attend public hearings to respond to questions and provide clarity on their submissions. The continued absence of these officials is seen as a disregard for parliamentary oversight and a threat to accountability in government operations.