*The Nigerian Senate Committee on Public Accounts, condemns persistent refusal of the invited agencies to appear before the Federal Legislature over the 2019 Audit Report, stating that their stance could undermine the anti-corruption efforts and transparency initiatives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu鈥檚 administration

Isola Moses | 绿帽献妻

The Nigerian Senate, in the National Assembly (NASS), Tuesday, August 13, 2024, in Abuja, FCT, condemned certain Federal Government revenue-generating Ministries, Departments and Agencies鈥� (MDAs) 鈥減ersistent refusal鈥� to honour its invitations and respond to queries raised against them in the 2019 Audit Report.

绿帽献妻 reports the Senators noted that the stance of the Federal Government agencies could undermine the anti-corruption efforts and transparency initiatives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.

Addressing the matter on the floor of the Upper Legislative Chamber Tuesday, Senator Ahmed Wadada Aliyu, representing Nasarawa West, and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, expressed dissatisfaction over the agencies鈥� 聽and listed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Nigeria Police Force, and 12 other agencies that habitually ignore demands from the Red Chamber to appear and respond to audit queries raised by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation.

Senator Wadada submitted the stance of these agencies could undermine the anti-corruption efforts and transparency initiatives of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.

The Federal lawmaker equally listed the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Nigeria Mining Cadastral Office, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (formerly DPR), and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade & Investment, among others.

Other indicted government agencies include the FCT Internal Revenue Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of Defence, and Nigeria Communications Satellite Limited.

Wadada, however, said henceforth, any MDAs that habitually ignore Senate Committee invitations to respond to queries would have such queries sustained, and reported to the Senate Plenary by the committee.