NEITI audit probe suffers setback as CBN, NDDC, NUPRC fail to appear before Senate

By Henry Umoru, Abuja

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts’ planned investigation into the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Oil and Gas Industry Audit Reports for 2021, 2022 and 2023 suffered a setback on Monday after key government agencies failed to appear before the committee.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and officials of NEITI, which produced the audit reports, were absent from the investigative hearing.

The hearing, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, is part of a three-week special legislative oversight exercise aimed at examining issues arising from the NEITI reports, including revenues, remittances, financial obligations and operational activities in Nigeria’s extractive sector.

The committee had invited the affected agencies and published notices in national newspapers ahead of the hearing scheduled for Monday at 3pm.

However, at the Senate Hearing Room 022, venue of the exercise, none of the invited organisations appeared or sent representatives.

Following the development, the committee directed the chief accounting officers of the affected agencies to appear before it on Thursday, August 6, 2026, warning that failure to comply would attract sanctions in line with relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Senate Standing Orders.

Expressing disappointment over the absence of the agencies, Dankwambo said the invitations were properly issued and public notices published to ensure compliance.

“We scheduled this hearing in order to reduce the volume of work before the National Assembly and to promote and enhance our oversight responsibilities as members of the National Assembly.

“Letters were issued, invitations were sent, and advertisements were placed in at least three national newspapers. Yet, more than one or two hours after the meeting was scheduled to begin, our guests have still not arrived,” he said.

A member of the committee, Senator Babangida Hussaini, urged the Senate to invoke its constitutional powers against agencies that failed to honour the invitation.

He said the refusal of any agency to appear before the committee to respond to audit queries undermined the oversight responsibilities of the National Assembly.

Another member, Senator Patrick Ndubueze, called for sanctions against the affected agencies, arguing that their failure to attend or provide explanations showed disregard for the committee.

The committee, however, resolved to give the agencies another opportunity to appear on Thursday.

The public hearing is expected to continue with appearances by the National Security Adviser, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), among others.

The Senate had last week announced plans to commence a comprehensive review of the NEITI Oil and Gas Industry Audit Reports covering 2021, 2022 and 2023.

The exercise, which is expected to run for 23 days, is designed to scrutinise the management of revenues, payments, remittances and other financial obligations in the oil and gas sector.

The committee said the oversight exercise derives its authority from Sections 88, 89 and 85(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the NEITI Act and the Senate Standing Orders.

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