The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has issued a fresh seven-day summons to officials of the six Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Councils over unresolved audit queries involving about N100 billion. The committee, chaired by Bamidele Salam, issued the summons on Tuesday in Abuja. This decision followed the failure of the six council chairpersons to honour the committee’s invitation to appear before it on 22 September, despite having requested the date themselves.
The affected councils are Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali. The latest action stems from financial queries contained in the Annual Audit Report of the Auditor-General for the Six FCT Area Councils for the year ended 31 December 2021. The report identified about N7.65 billion in outstanding liabilities across the six councils, including unremitted pension deductions, Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Value Added Tax (VAT) and withholding tax, as well as unpaid obligations to contractors.
AMAC had the highest outstanding liability at N2.19 billion, followed by Bwari with N1.49 billion and Kwali with N1.46 billion. Gwagwalada recorded N1.01 billion, while Kuje and Abaji had outstanding liabilities of N892.2 million and N593.8 million respectively. The auditor-general said the outstanding sums were owed to tax authorities, Pension Fund Administrators and contractors.
Beyond the outstanding liabilities, the committee is seeking explanation and supporting documents on N24.87 billion spent by the six councils on personnel, overheads and capital expenditure in 2021. AMAC accounted for N5.03 billion of the expenditure, while Gwagwalada spent N4.66 billion. Kuje recorded N3.85 billion, Kwali N3.84 billion, Bwari N3.74 billion and Abaji N3.71 billion.
The auditor-general also raised concerns over the management of fixed assets by the councils, saying asset registers were not properly maintained or updated. Gwagwalada was specifically queried over non-current assets valued at N336 million. According to the audit report, the Auditor General for the Six Area Council reported that the value of non-current assets of Gwagwalada Area Council stood at N336m.
Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Bamidele Salam, said on Tuesday that the repeated failure of the council chairpersons to appear before the committee had frustrated efforts to resolve the audit queries. He said the committee had consequently resolved to summon the Directors of Personnel Management and Finance and Heads of Audit of the councils. The committee has now directed the Directors of Personnel Management and Finance and Heads of Audit of the six councils to appear before it on 14 October or face sanctions under the relevant service rules.
The Public Accounts Committee is empowered by the Nigerian Constitution to examine audited accounts of public institutions and investigate financial irregularities identified by the Auditor-General. The latest summons is intended to compel the relevant officials of the six FCT Area Councils to provide explanations and documents needed to resolve the outstanding audit queries. Mr Salam said the committee would insist on accountability in the management of public funds and warned that officials found culpable would face the consequences provided by law.
Key points
- The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee has issued a summons to six Federal Capital Territory Area Councils over N100 billion financial queries.
- The audit report identified about N7.65 billion in outstanding liabilities across the six councils.
- The committee is seeking explanation and supporting documents on N24.87 billion spent by the six councils on personnel, overheads and capital expenditure in 2021.
