The Senate has threatened to invoke its constitutional powers against several government agencies that failed to appear before the Senate Public Accounts Committee investigating billions of naira in oil and gas revenues captured in audit reports by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
The warning followed the absence of key institutions, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), at the committee’s inaugural hearing on Monday.
The committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, described the agencies’ failure to honour invitations as a serious affront to the National Assembly and a challenge to its constitutional oversight responsibilities.
The hearing marked the commencement of a comprehensive investigation into the 2021, 2022 and 2023 NEITI Oil and Gas Industry Audit Reports, which contain extensive information on revenues, remittances, royalties, taxes and compliance obligations within Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
Lawmakers expressed frustration after waiting for more than an hour without any representative from the invited organisations appearing before the panel.
Members of the committee argued that the absence of the agencies undermined transparency efforts in a sector considered critical to Nigeria’s economy.
Senator Babangida Hussaini criticised the development, describing the repeated failure of government agencies to honour Senate invitations as a disturbing trend that weakens democratic accountability.
He noted that lawmakers had interrupted constituency engagements and legislative recess activities to attend the hearing, only to discover that none of the invited agencies considered it necessary to provide explanations for their absence.
Similarly, Senator Francis Ndubueze faulted the agencies for failing to send representatives or communicate reasons for their inability to attend the hearing.
Following deliberations, the committee unanimously resolved to grant the affected organisations a final opportunity to appear before it on August 6, 2026.
The panel directed its secretariat to immediately notify all defaulting agencies that failure to honour the rescheduled invitation could result in the Senate enforcing compliance through constitutional measures.
The investigation is expected to scrutinise revenue generation, remittances to the Federation Account, royalty payments, statutory obligations and financial compliance involving more than 60 government institutions and oil companies.
Lawmakers insist the exercise is necessary to determine whether public revenues due to the federation were fully accounted for and whether any leakages identified in the audit reports warrant legislative or prosecutorial action.
