The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has issued a final one-week ultimatum to the management of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC), and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to appear before it over outstanding audit queries.
The strict legislative directive was issued by the committee chairman, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, during a public hearing in Abuja on Tuesday, following the failure of the three federal institutions to attend the scheduled oversight proceedings.
Tensions rose during the session when the committee secretariat presented a letter from the BOA legal adviser claiming that the bank had already resolved its audit disputes during previous appearances between February 2023 and November 2024.
The bank had requested a two-week extension to collate its documents, but the panel unanimously rejected the appeal. Senator Dankwambo, who represents Gombe North, strongly faulted the correspondence, stating that legislative committees will no longer accept letters signed by subordinate officials instead of the agency’s managing director or chief executive officer.
Committee members expressed deep concern over what they described as a growing and unacceptable pattern of disregard for legislative summons by public institutions.
Lawmakers clarified that the previous audit concerns regarding the BOA remain heavily unresolved, contrary to the claims made in the bank’s written brief.
The panel emphasised that it is strictly executing its statutory mandate based on constitutional reports and that public agencies cannot dictate timelines to parliament.
Consequently, the committee warned that strong warning letters would be dispatched immediately to the defaulting agencies outlining the exact unresolved financial issues.
Senator Dankwambo concluded the hearing by stating that if the chief executives of the BOA, the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company, and the Rural Electrification Agency fail to appear personally within the one-week grace period, they will face severe statutory sanctions for refusing to cooperate with national accountability frameworks.
Source: People Gazette
