The Senate has issued a final warning to heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) and Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs), threatening to invoke statutory sanctions, freeze budgetary allocations, and issue warrants of arrest if they continue to shun committee invitations.
The resolution followed a fiery debate during Thursday’s plenary session sparked by a motion sponsored by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa (Niger East), detailing the repeated refusal of over 40 major agencies—including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL)—to honor summons regarding ongoing revenue remittance probes.
“We Will No Longer Plead”: Lawmakers Push Back
Presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the upper chamber unanimously agreed that the persistent defiance by executive agencies directly undermines the National Assembly’s oversight mandates under Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended):
-
Zero-Budget Sanctions: Contributing to the debate, Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) declared that the legislature must stop pleading with appointed officials, urging the Senate to write directly to President Bola Tinubu and withhold budgetary allocations from any defaulting agency.
-
Constitutional Warrants: Former Abia State Governor, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, alongside Senator Halilu Ahmed (Nasarawa West), reminded plenary that Section 89(1)(d) explicitly empowers the legislature to issue warrants compelling attendance through law enforcement if summons are ignored.
-
Economic Sabotage: Senator Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North) absolved the President of blame, laying the responsibility squarely on agency heads who fail to account for operating surpluses and statutory remittances under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, describing their actions as economic sabotage.
Core Areas of Legislative Friction
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ POINTS OF LEGISLATIVE CONFLICT │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ • Revenue Non-Remittance : Probes into unremitted operating surpluses, │
│ internally generated revenue, and stamp duty collections by GOEs. │
│ │
│ • Ignored Resolutions : Adoption of the Legislative Compliance │
│ report showing MDAs routinely delay or ignore Senate directives. │
│ │
│ • Formal Communication : Senate Clerk directed to write final notices │
│ to all MDAs, SGF George Akume, and Head of Service Walson-Jack. │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
(Sources: Senate Plenary Debates & Committee Briefings)
Directives to Executive Leadership
To enforce compliance, the Senate formally called on the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, to mandate all supervising ministries and agency heads to appear whenever summoned by legislative committees.
The upper chamber warned that any further refusal to appear will automatically trigger formal constitutional measures, including withholding statutory funding in upcoming fiscal appropriation bills.
Ayodele Quadri
Correspondent
