Audit reports: Senate threatens FIRS, NNPC, CBN, Customs CEOs, others with warrant of arrest

For consistently ignoring its summons to appear before it, the Senate has threatened Chief Executive Officers of certain federal government revenue agencies, corporations, and parastatals with warrants of arrest.

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts issued the threat on Tuesday at a media briefing. Listed among the recalcitrant agencies that have rebuffed its summons to give explanations on audit queries before it are the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the Nigeria Customs Service.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Aliyu Wadada, specifically accused the Chairman of the FIRS, Zach Adedeji, of ignoring 8 summons of the Committee.

Senator Aliyu said the rebuff of the summons by the National Assembly was not only an affront to the institution but an insult to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He said: “Nobody in Nigeria is above the law. We are all supposed to operate under the laws guiding our various engagements as citizens of Nigeria. If the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will set aside his enormous commitments as President to come to the National Assembly as a mark of respect to the Assembly, to present the budget, I wonder how any appointee will think and feel that he is above the law or he is too busy to appear before the members of the people’s parliament.

“This is unacceptable and from today, after this press briefing, whoever is extended an invitation and he or she refuses to appear before this all-important committee, a warrant of arrest will be issued and we will call on the President to disengage that person because the person does not share in the dreams of Mr President to and for making Nigeria a better place.

“Permit me to say that from the inception of this committee to date, more than eight invitations have been extended to the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service who has intentionally refused to appear before this committee and also hasn’t been responding to communications at all from this committee. If he truly shares the dream of renewed hope, I wonder why he will not come here for us to exchange what we have going forward to make Nigeria a better place.

“He should also be reminded that we on this side of the divide are sitting on a mandate, not an appointment. We are not appointed. We were elected by Nigerians.

“And so if he does not have respect for the mandate given to us by Nigerians, he should have respect for the mandate given to his boss that appointed him. With this, the line is drawn between this committee and the Federal Inland Revenue Service. The next appointment, I mean, invitation that is given or communication sent to him and he does not respond, a warrant of arrest will be issued and we will call on the President to say that your appointee in the Federal Inland Revenue Service does not share your dream and he is not helping your situation.

“So get him out of there or get him where you feel you choose to.”

The Chairman of the PAC also accused the management of the NNPCL, led by Mele Kyari, and the Nigeria Customs Service of disrespect to its Committee.

“For NNPC, because the issues are multifaceted, we don’t want to take time here to outline the issues that have got to do with the Federal Inland Revenue Service or NNPC. NNPC as well has never appeared before this committee.

“The few communications NNPC responded to the committee, the information is neither here nor there. For NNPCL as well, the line is drawn. The next invitation NNPC does not appear, a warrant of arrest will be issued and we will also call on the President to do the needful.

“Nigerian Customs Service, on the side of the Auditor General’s report, there are billions to be accounted for. All efforts to get the Nigerian Customs Service to the table, to know how did this happen, what is the way forward, we are still where we were from day before yesterday to now, no change.”

The Committee also claimed that the apex bank has been avoiding it to clear grey areas on the controversial Ways and Means.

“For Central Bank of Nigeria, I had cause to take it on, on the floor of the Senate. It is important for Nigerians to know, under the so-called Ways and Means, what happened under Ways and Means where Central Bank of Nigeria debited borrowers and credited borrowers. Central Bank of Nigeria debited Consolidated Revenue Fund’s account and credited Treasury Single Account, which amounted to over ₦30 trillion.

“Consolidated Revenue Fund’s account is the government’s account. And the Treasury Single Account is also the government’s account. And in charging the interest, instead of the interest to be charged to the treasury bill account, they went again ahead to charge the Consolidated Revenue Fund’s account, which now has amounted to over ₦6 trillion.

“Every day, every month, Central Bank still charges the Consolidated Revenue Fund’s account with ₦650 billion. This is for us to interact, sit, and interface with Central Bank to know how and why it hasn’t been possible.”

The Committee also recalled that the Nigeria Communications Satellite Limited has been invited over nine times now to answer to the queries of the Auditor General for the Federation. Not a single appearance. The Nigerian Police Force has never appeared before this committee, despite all communications, to just respond to queries that emanated from the Auditor General’s report.

For those that have Auditor General’s queries, Auditor General, if we invite again, you do not appear, we will sustain the queries and use all the instruments and instrumentality of governance available to us by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. With this, I think the message is fully conveyed and we pray and hope that these agencies that have been mentioned here, we are not here, nobody is inviting anybody to antagonise, disrespect or haunt anybody. It is because of the information we have that we are calling you to come, so that we know what and where you stand, what you stand for and why you stand for and you hear from us.

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