Reps panel issues final summons to FCT councils over N100bn financial queries

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 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 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.

The report stated that the liabilities comprised “unremitted pension deduction, unremitted Pay as You Earn (PAYE), unpaid capital projects, unpaid value added tax and withholding tax.”

N24.87bn spending under scrutiny

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.

“However, the Auditor General observed that the ledger records of the non-current assets were not properly maintained and updated as and when due, which could give room for loss of assets without being traced. This exception is common among other FCT Area Councils.”

PAC uncovers more irregularities

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.

“The last date of appearance of the Abuja Area Councils was September 22, 2026, which was a date they requested and which was graciously granted by the committee. Yet, they failed to appear or send in any representation,” Mr Salam said.

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 therefore decided to issue summons to the Directors of Personnel Management and Finance of these local governments, including their Heads of Audit, to appear without fail on Wednesday, October 14, failure of which they will be made to bear consequences according to service rules,” he said.

Mr Salam said the committee’s scrutiny had also revealed additional concerns in the councils’ 2022 and part of their 2023 audit reports.

These, he said, included alleged understatement of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), unauthorised disposal of assets, non-disclosure of statutory revenue and failure to remit withholding tax to the appropriate authorities.

He added that the councils had also failed to audit and submit their financial accounts for 2023, 2024 and 2025 as required by law.

The lawmaker 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.

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. (Premium Times)