The House of Representatives is to commence a full investigation into the activities of all government-owned agencies including Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) and 258 others.
The investigative hearing was initiated by the House Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Hon Wole Oke over allegations bothering on ‘deliberate and reckless refusal by non-treasury funded ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to render accounts between 2014 to 2018 to the Auditor General for the Federation’.
In his response to the inquiry from the Committee’s letter with Ref. No: HR/PAC/SC05/9NASS/ACCT.G.1/011 dated 23rd December 2019, the Auditor General of the Federation, Anthony Atine, via a letter dated 20th January 2020, transmitted the list of 67 non-funded and partly funded agencies as detailed in the updated Schedule 21 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, for legislative scrutiny.
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The Accountant of the Federation, however, promised to provide additional list of affected Departments and Agencies of the government as the investigation continues .
Other agencies to be investigated are: Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), National Clearing and Forwarding Agencies, National Unity Line, Nigeria Airspace Management Services, Nigeria Shipper’s Council (NSC), Small and Medium Enterprise Development of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC).
Others include: Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), National Sugar Development Council, Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigeria Mining Corporation, Nigeria Re-Insurance, Niger Dock Nigeria Plc, Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria (NICON), Nigeria Re-Insurance Corporation, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), National Automotive Council (NAC), Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), Nigeria Custom Service (NCS), Niger Delta Power Holding Company (National Integrated Power project), Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) .
Also on the list submitted by the Accountant general of the Federation are: Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry (BoI), Cement Technology Institute of Nigeria, Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Hydrological and Hydrogeology Services, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), National Food Reserve Agency, National Quarantine Services, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), National Steel Development Fund, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and National Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC).
Also expected to appear before the Committee are management teams of: Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TetFund), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA), Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Integrated Water Resources Development Agency, Galaxy Backbone Ltd, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, National Communication Satellite Limited, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC), Abuja Securities and Commodity Exchange Commission, Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (AMCON), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), National Biosafety Management Agency, National Council for Museums and Monuments, National Council of Arts and Culture, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Study (NIPSS), National Institute of Hospitality and Tourism Development Studies, National Agricultural Seeds Council, National Examination Council (NECO), Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), Nigeria Incentive Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, Debt Management Office, (DMO), Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Oil & Gas Free Zone Authority, Onne Rivers State; Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), among others.
When contacted, the Chairman of the Committee, Hon Oke explained that the investigation was aimed at deepening the culture of accountability and due process in the public sector.
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