Akpabio threatens to sack non-performing Senate committee chairmen

Mr Akpabio also directed all standing committees to submit their reports on oversight by January.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has threatened to remove committee chairmen who fail to perform satisfactorily in accordance with the rules of the upper chamber.

He also queried how heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the federal government continued to disregard invitations to the National Assembly for questioning.

Mr Akpabio stated this on Tuesday during the plenary while responding to the concerns raised by the Bauchi Central senator, Abdul Ningi, about the failure of the Senate Committee on Finance to carry out oversight on 92 revenue-generating agencies.

The Senate president said the Senate leadership will not hesitate to change the composition of its committees so that those who have the 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 benefit of democracy in this country,” Mr Akpabio said.

Summons

Mr Akpabio also directed the Senate standing committees to submit reports on the oversight activities 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 the constitutional power to issue a warrant of arrest of any head of MDAs resisting the invitation to the National Assembly.

“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 ” he said.

There are over 70 standing committees in the Senate, each having chairmen and vice-chairmen with several members.

The committees are created by the Standing Order of the Senate.

“FIRS, NNPC Ltd failed to remit petroleum profit tax for years”

Meanwhile, Nasarawa West Senator Aliyu Wadada has said the Public Accounts Committee, which he chairs, sent several invitations to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on the remittance of petroleum tax, but that the agencies refused to make satisfactory clarifications.

Mr Wadada noted that the FIRS, in collaboration with the NNPCL, failed to remit petroleum profit tax to the federation account for several years.

“Federal Inland Revenue Service in collaboration with NNPC, petroleum profit tax for several 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 tipex and handwritten and acclaimed to be from JP Morgan. This is extremely unacceptable, and all efforts for the need to be done have not been achieved,” he said.