The Senate Public Accounts Committee’s investigation into the 2021-2023 oil and gas audit reports conducted by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) stalled on Monday following the non-appearance of key government agencies.
Top revenue and regulatory bodies, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), failed to attend the opening of the three-week public hearing.
Notably, even representatives from NEITI, the author of the audit reports, were absent.
The public hearing, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo (Gombe), was convened to scrutinize findings from NEITI’s recent reports alongside executive management teams from affected agencies.
Faced with an empty gallery, the committee issued a firm summons directing the management of the three defaulted agencies to appear without fail on Thursday, August 6, 2026.
Dankwambo warned that failure to honour the rescheduled appearance would trigger severe legal sanctions as empowered by the 1999 Constitution and Senate Standing Orders.
Our correspondent reports that despite the setback, the committee is proceeding with its scheduled hearing today, where officials from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) are expected to appear.