.Gives one-week deadline to appear or face sanctions
The Senate yesterday threatened 100 Federal Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) with zero budgetary provisions until all queries raised against them by the Auditor-General of the Federation are answered, before the Senate Committee On Public Accounts.
The threat followed a Point Of Order, raised by the Chairman of the Committee, Matthew Urhoghide, who drew his colleagues’ attention to the abysmal disregard of summons by Heads of the MDAs, to answer queries raised against them by the Auditor-General.
The affected MDAs include the State House, Presidential Fleet, the Ministries of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Petroleum Resources, Defence, Agriculture and Rural Development, Health, Environment, Communications and Digital Economy, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Information and Culture, Youth and Sport Development, Revenue Mobilization Allocation Fiscal Commission, Nigeria Army, Navy, Air force, Police and National Security Adviser.
Others are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Budget Office of the Federation, and the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, Presidential Amnesty Program, Federal Civil Service Commission, and the National Inland Waterways Authority Lokoja, Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Nigeria Defence Academy, National Human Rights Commission, and National Emergency Management Agency.
Also included are the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Authority, National Health Insurance Scheme, the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp, Office of the Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Federal Civil Service Commission, Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Authority, National Health Insurance Scheme, among others.
If there is no communication whatsoever, and no cogent and verifiable reasons are given, we will slash the budget of the agencies as far as the capital component is concerned.
Mandate of the legislature
Urhoghide appealed to his colleagues to invoke the sections of the constitution that mandate the affected agencies to appear or use a warrant of arrest to mandate them to appear.
He decried that the MDAs have consistently failed to respect the Senate, despite Sections 88 and 89 of the Constitution, which give power to the legislature to summon agencies.
“This to us is against the Constitution and policy of accountability and transparency of the federal government,” he added.
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, after reading the names of the affected agencies, ordered that they should appear before the Committee within one week or risk zero budget allocation in 2023.
He said: “Your point of order is sustained fully and completely, totally sustained, you are right on the dot to bring to the plenary your grievances.”
He warned that “If there is no communication whatsoever, and no cogent and verifiable reasons are given, we will slash the budget of the agencies as far as the capital component is concerned.”
“Heads of the affected agencies must take this very seriously because any serving public officer must be ready to render accounts on public funds and if not ready to do so, should quit since nobody should be above the law,” he added.
