Senate Moves to Sanction NNPCL, CBN, TETFund, Others Over Revenue Remittance Failures

The Senate has begun moves to sanction several federal agencies, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), over alleged failure to honour invitations from its Committee on Finance investigating revenue remittances to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The upper chamber warned that repeated refusal by government institutions to appear before parliamentary committees undermines legislative oversight, weakens fiscal accountability and threatens transparency in the management of public resources.

The development followed a point of order raised during plenary on Wednesday by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), who accused several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of ignoring invitations to explain their internally generated revenues and remittances to the Federal Government.

Musa cited Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empower the National Assembly to investigate the finances and administration of public institutions.

He said the committee’s investigation was aimed at reviewing the revenue performance of government agencies, assessing their financial practices and ensuring compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Finance Act.

According to him, some agencies either failed to appear before the committee or rejected the invitations, arguing that they were not legally required to submit to such inquiries.

Musa described the position as unconstitutional, warning that allowing agencies to disregard legislative summonses would weaken the authority of the National Assembly.

“If this trend continues unchecked, it will erode legislative oversight, weaken fiscal accountability and reduce transparency in the management of public resources,” he said.

Agencies listed

Among the agencies accused of failing to honour the committee’s invitations are NNPCL, TETFund, FAAN, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), CBN, Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), National Examinations Council (NECO), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and Federal Medical Centre, Jabi.

Musa alleged that some of the affected agencies, despite generating significant revenues, were remitting amounts below the operating surpluses required by law while retaining substantial portions of their internally generated funds.

He said the practice was contrary to provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Finance Act.

The senator urged the Senate to compel the agencies to provide detailed records of their revenue collections, expenditures and remittances, arguing that stronger enforcement would improve accountability in public finance management.

Akpabio orders further action

Responding to the issue, Senate President Godswill Akpabio directed Musa to present a substantive motion at the next legislative sitting.

The motion, according to Akpabio, would allow senators to debate the matter extensively and determine appropriate sanctions against any agency found to have violated the law or undermined the authority of the National Assembly.

The move marks another escalation in the Senate’s push for greater oversight of government revenues and compliance by federal institutions with financial accountability requirements.