Senate slams NNPCL, FIRS and 13 other agencies for ignoring audit requests, threatens consequences

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has expressed anger over the refusal of 15 government agencies, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), to respond to audit questions raised against them in their 2019 audit report.

The committee chairman, Senator Ahmed Aliyu, on Tuesday, disclosed that despite repeated invitations, the agencies had failed to defend themselves against the questions, prompting the committee to decide that further refusal would lead to the adoption of the position of auditor and reporting to the Senate plenary.

The affected agencies, which also include the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade & Investment, among others, have been accused of thwarting the committee’s efforts to ensure accountability and transparency.

The committee’s rules of engagement require agencies to respond to audit inquiries in writing and attend public hearings to discuss questions arising from their submissions. However, the agencies’ continued refusal to comply has led to threats of consequences from the committee.

He said: “It should be conveyed that the Committee has begun discussing the audit report in October 2023 to be submitted to the Plenary Meeting.

“However, some institutions deliberately failed to comply with the invitation to defend their written responses to the audit questions as submitted to the committee secretariat.

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“In addition to the requirement to submit written responses to audit inquiries, part of the committee’s rules of engagement requires that accounting officers attend the committee’s public hearings to respond to questions arising from their analysis of the submissions which, in turn, form the basis for an appropriate decision on the matter by the committee.

“The Committee is deeply dissatisfied with the inaction of bodies that are legally expected to respond to parliamentary calls and be held accountable for their actions.

“The Committee has extended invitations to these institutions from time to time, giving them ample opportunity to defend their questions, but for reasons best known to themselves, these institutions have chosen to ignore the invitations.

“In this regard, we as the committee have decided that going forward, the Senate public accountability committee will consider the audit questions as contained in the auditor general’s annual report and any MDA that subsequently fails to comply with the invitation to respond and present its defence, the committee will take the position of auditor.

“In addition, this resolution will be added to our rules of engagement if the Ministry/Institution fails to increase their attendance at our invitation.”

The development highlights the ongoing struggle for accountability in Nigeria’s public sector, with a Senate committee determined to ensure that government agencies are held accountable for their actions.

Senate slams NNPCL, FIRS, 13 other agencies for ignoring audit requests, threatens consequences first appeared on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.