The Senate’s Public Accounts Committee (SPAC) has warned several top government officials that they could face arrest for repeatedly failing to appear before the panel....CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING.>>
The officials who might face arrest include Police Inspector-General Kayode Egbetokun, Central Bank Governor Yemi Cardoso, NNPCL CEO Mele Kyari, FIRS Chairman Zacch Adedeji, and Customs Chief Adewale Adeniyi.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Speaking to reporters, SPAC Chairman Ahmed Aliyu Wadada expressed strong disapproval over the officials’ behavior. He pointed out that FIRS Chairman Adedeji has not responded to eight different invitations from the committee.
“Nobody in Nigeria is above the law. We are all supposed to operate under the laws guiding our various engagements as citizens of Nigeria. If the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will set aside his enormous commitments as President to come to the National Assembly as a mark of respect to the Assembly to present a budget, I wonder how any appointee will think and feel that he is above the law or he is too busy to appear before the members of the people’s parliament.”.
The committee needs these officials to explain issues raised in audit reports from the Office of the Auditor General. The NNPCL has barely communicated with the committee, and when they did, their responses were not helpful. The Nigeria Customs Service needs to explain billions in financial queries.
Wadada noted that the Central Bank has been avoiding questions about Ways and Means. He stressed that these actions show disrespect not only to the National Assembly but also to President Tinubu.
The committee chairman made it clear that if these officials miss their next invitation, arrest warrants will be issued. He also said they would ask President Tinubu to remove any official who continues to ignore the committee’s summons.
“We are sitting on a mandate, not an appointment. We are not appointed. We were elected by Nigerians,” Wadada stated, highlighting the committee’s authority. He added that if these officials don’t respect the committee’s mandate from voters, they should at least respect the president who appointed them.
The committee sees this behavior as going against President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. They believe officials who don’t cooperate with parliamentary oversight are not helping the President’s plans for the country.
