Senate threatens to go tough on MDAs ignoring summons

The Senate has threatened to invoke constitutional sanctions, including arrest warrants and budgetary penalties, against heads of Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs), Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that fail to honour invitations to appear before its committees.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion sponsored on Thursday by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, and co-sponsored by 18 other senators on the persistent non-compliance of government agencies with the oversight functions of the committee.

Leading the debate, Musa described the refusal of some agency heads to honour legislative invitations as a violation of the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers and an affront to the authority of the National Assembly.

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He warned that such actions undermine transparency, accountability and effective oversight of public resources.

According to him, the Senate must assert its constitutional powers or risk eroding public confidence in democratic governance.

Following deliberations, the Senate reaffirmed its powers under Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution to conduct investigations and exercise oversight over government agencies.

It directed all GOEs and MDAs to comply with invitations issued by the Senate and its committees and appear whenever required in line with the Constitution and the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

The upper chamber also directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and all ministers to ensure that agencies under their supervision comply with legislative summons.

The Clerk to the National Assembly was mandated to communicate the resolution to all relevant authorities for immediate compliance, warning that defaulters would face sanctions provided under the Constitution, the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Senate Standing Orders.

During the debate, several lawmakers lamented what they described as a growing pattern of agency heads refusing to appear before Senate committees.

Senate Chief Whip, Mohammed Monguno, described the motion as long overdue, saying the legislature must protect its constitutional independence.

“What is happening is a case of executive arrogance or executive rascality, which the parliament must stop by defending its independence,” he said.

Senator Abdul Ningi described the development as unfortunate, particularly under the administration of President Bola Tinubu, a former senator.

While noting that the President might not be aware of the actions of the agency heads, Ningi urged the Senate to issue a final warning and, if necessary, write to Tinubu before considering stricter measures.

“If that still doesn’t work, the National Assembly can decide not to appropriate funds to these agencies. We will have to review our 100 per cent cooperation with the executive,” he said.

Senator Adams Oshiomhole, however, cautioned against blaming President Tinubu for the conduct of agency heads, insisting there was no evidence that the President had directed them to ignore Senate invitations.

He accused some MDAs of violating the Fiscal Responsibility Act through wasteful spending on recurrent expenditures, including unnecessary training and travel.

“The President as a person can’t uncover all of these. That is where the parliament comes in. From what we have seen, we can even run all the MDAs with 50 per cent of the votes for recurrent expenditure. There is a lot of waste,” Oshiomhole said.

Senator Orji Uzor Kalu also backed the proposal for stricter enforcement, urging the Senate to exercise its constitutional powers without involving the President.

“The National Assembly is being taken for a ride and we must stand up to it. If they don’t come after we summon them, we issue a warrant of arrest. We should do our job and leave Mr President alone,” Kalu said.

In his closing remarks, Senate President Godswill Akpabio reminded lawmakers that the Constitution already empowers the Senate to compel individuals to appear before it, but stressed that such powers must be exercised in accordance with due process.

He also urged committee members to maintain decorum in their dealings with heads of government agencies.

“We can’t lament when we have the powers from the Constitution. Section 89 gives us the authority. However, we must exercise decorum by addressing issues using our rules,” Akpabio said.