FCT Council chairmen’s absence stalls N100bn investigative hearing

For the umpteenth time, the six Area Council Chairmen of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) failed to appear before the House of Representatives’ Public Accounts Committee to answer questions over alleged financial infractions contained in audit reports involving about N100 billion.

The chairmen had requested September 22, 2026, as the date for their appearance before the Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Rep. Bamidele Salam, but failed to attend or send representatives.

Consequently, the lawmakers unanimously resolved to issue a seven-day final summons to the Directors of Personnel Management and Finance, as well as Heads of Audit of the six councils, directing them to appear on October 14, 2026, or face sanctions in accordance with the relevant public service rules.

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The affected councils are Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali.

The audit queries are contained in the Annual Audit Report of the Auditor-General for the Six FCT Area Councils for the year ended December 31st, 2021.

According to the report, the six councils had outstanding liabilities of about N7.65 billion arising from unremitted pension deductions, Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Value Added Tax (VAT) and withholding tax, as well as unpaid obligations to contractors.

Breakdown of the fund showed that AMAC accounted for the highest outstanding liability of N2.19 billion, followed by Bwari with N1.49 billion and Kwali with N1.46 billion.

Gwagwalada had N1.01 billion in outstanding liabilities, Kuje N892.2 million and Abaji N593.8 million.

The report said the liabilities were due for remittance to the Nigeria Revenue Service, FCT Inland Revenue Service, Pension Fund Administrators and contractors.

It stated: “The Auditor General for the Six Area Council reported in annual report of the year 2021 that the Six Area Councils had outstanding liabilities of N7.6bn as at December 31, 2021 comprising unremitted pension deduction, unremitted Pay as You Earn (PAYE), unpaid capital projects, unpaid value added tax and withholding tax.”

The Auditor-General also faulted the councils over the management of their fixed assets, noting that asset registers were not properly maintained and updated.

Gwagwalada Area Council was specifically cited over non-current assets valued at N336 million, which the report said were not properly recorded and updated.

The report stated: “The Auditor General for the Six Area Council reported that the value of non-current asset of Gwagwalada Area Council stood at N336 million. However, the Auditor General observed that the ledger records of the non-current assets were not properly maintained and updated as at when due which could give room for loss of asset without being traced. This exception is common among other FCT Area Councils.”

The Committee is also seeking explanations and supporting documents on N24.87 billion expended by the six Councils on personnel, overheads and capital expenditure in 2021.

The breakdown showed that AMAC spent N5.03 billion, Gwagwalada N4.66 billion, Kuje N3.85 billion, Kwali N3.84 billion, Bwari N3.74 billion and Abaji N3.71 billion.

Speaking with Parliamentary Correspondents in Abuja, Rep. Salam lamented that the chairmen of the six Area Councils had repeatedly failed to honour invitations and provide documents required by the committee to resolve the audit queries.

“The last date of appearance of the Abuja Area Councils was September 22, 2026, which was a date they requested and which was graciously granted by the committee. Yet, they failed to appear or send in any representation.

“The Committee has therefore decided to issue summons to the Directors of Personnel Management and Finance of these local governments, including their Heads of Audit, to appear without fail on Wednesday, October 14, failure of which they will be made to bear consequences according to service rules,” he said.

Rep. Salam said the committee had also uncovered further concerns in audit reports for 2022 and part of 2023, including alleged understatement of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), unauthorised disposal of assets, non-disclosure of statutory revenue and failure to remit withholding tax to the appropriate authorities.

He further disclosed that the councils had failed to audit and submit their financial accounts for 2023, 2024 and 2025, contrary to statutory requirements.

The lawmaker stressed the need for public funds to be managed with transparency, accountability and prudence, warning that officials found culpable would be held accountable in accordance with the law.

The Public Accounts Committee derives its constitutional mandate from the 1999 Constitution, as amended, to examine audited accounts of public institutions and investigate financial irregularities identified by the Auditor-General.

The latest summons is therefore aimed at compelling the relevant officials of the six FCT Area Councils to appear before the committee and provide explanations and supporting documents required to resolve the outstanding audit queries.