The planned probe of the 2021–2023 audit reports on the oil and gas industry conducted by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) suffered a setback in the Senate on Monday as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) failed to appear at the public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Public Accounts.
The committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwabo (Gombe North), had, on the strength of the audit reports submitted by NEITI, organised a three-week public hearing expected to be attended by the heads and management teams of the affected agencies.
However, at the commencement of the public hearing on Monday, none of the three invited agencies—CBN, NDDC and NUPRC—was represented. Also absent was NEITI’s management, the author of the audit reports.
Miffed by their absence, the committee directed that the management of the three agencies must appear before it without fail on Thursday, 6 August 2026.
Announcing the resolution, Senator Dankwabo stressed that any failure by the affected agencies to honour the rescheduled invitation would attract serious sanctions in accordance with the relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Senate Standing Orders.
Earlier, a member of the committee, Senator Babangida Hussaini (Jigawa North-West), strongly recommended invoking the relevant provisions of the Constitution and the Senate Standing Orders against the heads of the affected agencies.
“I rely on the constitutional provisions, Sections 47 and 60 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as the relevant provisions of our Standing Orders.
“The powers of this committee are derived from these provisions. It is an affront to the institution of the National Assembly for any agency, by whatever name or designation, to refuse to appear and answer audit queries that have been validly raised.
“I think this committee is being taken for granted, and by extension, Nigerians are being taken for granted The institutional integrity of the Senate is being undermined r Chairman, drastic measures need to be taken in line with our rules,” he said.
Another member of the committee, Senator Patrick Ndubueze (Imo North), canvassed outright sanctions against the heads of the absentee agencies rather than granting them a second chance to appear, saying it was necessary to protect the Senate’s integrity.
He said: “Mr Chairman, this reflects the level of commitment of government agencies in this country One letter was written No excuse was offered A representative was sent to appear before the committee to explain why the chief executives were unable to attend.
“To me, they do not deserve to be given any second chance to appear.”
The committee will, however, continue with the public hearing today, with the National Security Adviser, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), among others, expected to appear.