Ningi Favoured For Public Accounts Committee As Senate Moves To Oust Wadada

The Public Accounts Committee in legislative chamber is a key committee saddles with the duty of keeping checks on government activities, ensuring that probity, accountability and transparency in government.

Led by Aliyu Ahmed Wadada, a former SDP member in Nasarawa state, and who has defected to the ruling APC, the committee since its constitution in 2023, has only been known for the uncoordinated investigation of the NNPCL unaccounted N210 trillion.

Unfortunately,  as interesting as the topic is to Nigerians because of the history of humongous corruption in the state oil company, allegations of legislative extortion has run the investigation into a brickwall.

Onyeka Peter Nwebonyi is the vice chairman of the committee which parades 37 members.

Other members are Karimi Sunday Steve, Mustapha Saliu, Umar Sadiq Suleiman, Banigo Ipalibo Harry, Bassey Aniekan Etim and the former fiery Adams Aliyu Oshiomole.

The list also include Eze Kenneth Emeka, Izunaso Ozita, Ngwu Osita, Abaribe Enyinnnaya, Ya’U Sahabi Alhaji, Ibrahim Lamido, Ibrahim Mohammed Bomal, Kaka Sheu Lawan,  former accountant-general of the Federation and two-time governor of Gombe state, Dankwambo Ibrahim,  Sharafadeen Abiodun, Adeola Solomon, Sanni Wasiu Eshilokun, Majority leader Bamidele Michael Opeyemi, Joel-Onowakpo Thomas, Tony Nwoye, former Bayelsa state governor, Dickson Seriake, Abdul Ningi, Ede Dafinone, Aminua Lya Abbas, Jimoh Ibrahim, Peter Jiya, Simon Lalong, Hussaini Babangida, Victor Umeh, Sani Nasiru Zango Daura, Kelvin Chukwu, Mustapha Khabeeb, Mpigi Birnada and Isah Jibrin.

The committee since its constitution in 2023, has, to date, without a report of investigative activities, an inaction blamed on its chairman, Aliyu Wadada, a leader whose style is alleged to be retrogressive.

Removing Wadada, whose leadership style drew criticism, according to members to spoke to InsideBusinessNG, will realign the Senate with global parliamentary convention by placing the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) under opposition leadership. This ensures checks on the ruling party and promotes transparency and accountability in government agencies and governance.

Parliamentary sources confided in InsideBusinessNG that the leadership, after wide consultation among members of the committee, settled for both Ningi and Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, the former accountant-general and former governor of Gombe state, who are both members of the opposition party.

Ningi, according to findings, is favoured by the Senate leadership because they alleged that Dankwambo from Gombe North, like Wadada, is not always present at plenary and at Senate activities.

Wadada, sources said, has been a subject of grumbling in the chamber over his attendance in plenary, which has been described as very poor.

‘He has very limited appearance in the Senate since its resumption in September, and it was only for the alleged lacklustre NNPCL probe, which members say has lost bite.

Wadada will be remembered by the committee as the only chairman with no record of achievement, breaking away from the record performance of his predecessors.

“Senator Matthew Iroghide, who was the former chairman of the PAC in the previous legislative session, had three investigative reports to his name during his tenure. Wadada has nothing to show for his three years at the helm of the committee’, according to a member of the committee who was present during Iroghide’s tenure.

Committee members lamented the lack of activities, while they alleged that Wadada, with Idris Yelwa, his technical assistant, always makes decisions unilaterally without taking others along.

“We noted that there were several letters dispatched to several institutions by Idris, a non-official member of the National Assembly, without knowledge of the Secretariat of the committee. Sometimes they lose count of the agencies they wrote to”.

Wadada was appointed chairman of the PAC, being a member of the opposition party, SDP, at the beginning of the 10th National Assembly.

Wadada, who defected to the ruling All-Progressives Congress (APC) on August 12, 2025, to pursue his gubernatorial ambition in Nasarawa, has allegedly refused to officially inform the Senate leadership of his defection, retaining chairmanship of a key committee in violation of parliamentary convention.

“Up till now, the senate has not announced his defection from the SDP to the APC, nine months after’, another member noted

Wadada’s tenure at the committee will be remembered as one during which the senate was embarrassed at the NNPCL, where the letters from the Public Accounts Committee were rejected and returned to the National Assembly on three occasions.

“Three times, NNPCL refused to collect letters from the committee, and they were returned to the chamber”, noted a member who said many institutions alleged that the committee had turned oversight into legislative extortion.