The Senate, yesterday, threatened to withdraw allocation to about 100 Ministries, Department, and Agencies, (MDAs).
The Upper Chamber’s resolution was on the heels of observations made at its plenary session by Senator Mathew Urhoghide.
The Senator representing Edo-South, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, has accused the chief executives of the agencies of failure to honour his Committee’s invitation, based on queries against their finances by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation.
Senator Urhoghide, during the plenary, said, “The agencies that have vehemently refused to appear before our committee; this list of agencies and the amount that is against their name are staggering. I crave your indulgence that we invite, through your Order, either by way of warrant of arrest or anything, so that these agencies can come so that we can complete our report and submit it to this Senate”.
Among the agencies listed by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, include: the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning; Ministry of Defence; AMCON; NEMA; Ministry of Agric; Nigeria Police Force; Nigerian Army; National Health Insurance Scheme,(NHIS); Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Ministry of Environment, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria,(NAHCON); Office of National Security Adviser; NECO; Nigerian Police Academy; Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC).
The Senate President gave the listed agencies one week to appear before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts or have their 2023 Budget slashed.
