The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday threatened to remove committee chairmen in the Senate who failed to perform optimally in the discharged of their statutory oversight functions.
Akpabio queried how heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the federal government continued to disregard invitation to appear before committees of the National Assembly for questioning.
Akpabio made these assertions during plenary while responding to the concerns of Bauchi Central Senator, Abdul Ningi, alleging that the Senate Committee on Finance failed to carry out oversight on 92 revenue generating agencies.
The Senate President said the Senate leadership would not hesitate to change the composition of its committees so that those who have capacity could take over.
“If for any reason some committees are finding it too difficult to oversight their agencies, we will change the composition of the committees so that those who have the capacity and the capabilities can take over and do the job for the benefits of democracy in this country,” Akpabio said.
Akpabio also called on all chairmen of standing committees in the Senate to submit annual reports about their oversight activities of their respective committees by January 2025.
“I would like a report from almost all the committees to be submitted by January 31st of the activities so far so that we will know where they have difficulties,” he said.
He said the lawmakers have constitutional power to issue a warrant of arrest on heads of MDAs resisting invitation to appeal before National Assembly committees m.
“The powers are there and the constitution backs us. I do not see where any MDAs or any agency will refuse to comply with the invitation or demands from any committee of the Senate or the National Assembly as a whole.
“Where you overlook it as a committee, that is where they get away with it and then it now becomes a norm, so please let us take it seriously.”
There are over 70 standing committees at the Senate, each having chairmen and vice-chairmen with several members.
The committees are created in accordance with the Standing Orders of the Senate.
“FIRS, NNPC Ltd failed to remit petroleum profit tax for years”
On his part, Nasarawa West Senator, Aliyu Ahmed Wadada, said the Public Accounts Committee which he chaired sent several invitations to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) on the remittance of petroleum profit tax but the agencies refused to make satisfactory clarifications.
Wadada noted that the FIRS in collaboration with the NNPC Ltd failed to remit petroleum profit tax to the federation account for a number of years.
“Federal Inland Revenue Service in collaboration with NNPC, Petroleum Profit Tax for a number of years have not been remitted to the right quarters.
“The committee had written both NNPC and the Federal Inland Revenue Service. Federal Inland Revenue Service responded with documents that have been tip-exed and handwritten and claimed to be from JP Morgan, this is extremely unacceptable and all efforts for the need to be done have not been achieved” he said.
