Senate Fumes as CBN, NDDC, NUPRC Skip NEITI Probe

The Senate’s planned investigation into the 2021–2023 audit reports on Nigeria’s oil and gas industry conducted by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) suffered a setback on Monday following the absence of key government agencies at a public hearing.

The Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwabo (Gombe North), had scheduled a three-week public hearing to examine issues raised in the NEITI audit reports, with heads and management teams of the affected agencies expected to appear before the committee.
However, at the commencement of the hearing, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), as well as NEITI itself, failed to attend the session.
Angered by the development, the committee directed the management of the three agencies to appear without fail on Thursday, August 6, 2026.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Dankwabo, warned that failure to honour the rescheduled invitation would attract sanctions in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Senate Standing Orders.
Earlier, a member of the committee, Senator Babangida Hussaini (Jigawa North West), urged the panel to invoke the relevant constitutional provisions and Senate rules against the defaulting agencies.
“I rely on the constitutional provisions, Sections 47 and 60 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as the relevant provisions of our Standing Rules. The powers of this committee are derived from these provisions. It is a distraction to the institution of the National Assembly for any agency, by whatever name or designation, to refuse to appear and answer audit queries that have been validly raised.
“I think this committee is being taken for granted, and by extension, Nigerians are being taken for granted. The institutional integrity of the Senate is being undermined. Mr. Chairman, drastic measures need to be taken in line with our rules,” he said.
Also speaking, Senator Patrick Ndubueze (Imo North) called for immediate sanctions against the heads of the agencies, arguing that they did not deserve another opportunity to appear before the committee.
According to him, “Mr. Chairman, this reflects the level of commitment of government agencies in this country. No letter was written. No excuse was offered. No representative was sent to appear before the committee to explain why the chief executives could not attend.
“To me, they don’t deserve to be given any second chance of appearance.”
Despite the setback, the committee said it would continue with the public hearing on Tuesday, with the National Security Adviser, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), and other agencies expected to appear.