The Senate has threatened to invoke its constitutional powers against Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government that fail to appear before its committees for budget defence and oversight activities.
The resolution followed a motion sponsored by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa (Niger East), who decried the poor compliance of several MDAs with invitations to defend their budget performance before the National Assembly.
Presenting the motion during Thursday’s plenary, Musa urged the Senate to mandate the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and all ministers to direct agencies under their supervision to honour invitations from the National Assembly without delay.
Leading the debate, Senator Abdul Ningi said the Senate could no longer continue pleading with government agencies to perform what he described as their constitutional responsibility.
“We must start by calling their attention that this is the last warning. Secondly, we will write to the President to inform him that this arm of government is not being respected. Thirdly, no budgetary allocation to any organisation that refuses to come,” Ningi said.
Senator Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North) absolved President Bola Tinubu of responsibility for the actions of the agencies, insisting that the blame rests with the heads of the defaulting institutions.
“Mr. President should not be bothered about this matter. It is an indictment on the agencies that did not comply with the Fiscal Responsibility Act or Treasury circulars. I consider this an act of economic sabotage,” Oshiomhole said.
Also contributing, Senator Oji Uzor Kalu (Abia North) maintained that the Senate already has sufficient constitutional powers under Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution to compel attendance without involving the Executive.
“This is not the job of the President. Our job is to do oversight. Sections 88 and 89 are there. If they don’t come, we raise a warrant,” Kalu said.
Supporting the position, Senator Halilu Ahmed (Nasarawa West) reminded lawmakers that the Constitution empowers the National Assembly to compel attendance through the issuance of warrants where necessary.
Following the debate, Senate President Godswill Akpabio presided over the adoption of a series of resolutions aimed at strengthening legislative oversight.
The Senate called on the SGF, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and all ministers to ensure agencies under their supervision comply promptly with invitations from the National Assembly.
Lawmakers further resolved that any agency that deliberately refuses to honour Senate invitations or obstructs legislative oversight would face sanctions in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Senate Standing Orders.
In a separate resolution, the Senate also adopted a motion sponsored by Senator Tokunbo Abiru (Lagos West) and supported by Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central), directing all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to regularly submit their audited financial statements to the relevant Senate committees in compliance with Section 85(2) of the 1999 Constitution.
