By Anayo Akwitti
The Senate on Wednesday threatened to invoke its constitutional powers against more than 30 federal revenue-generating agencies and government-owned enterprises over alleged violations of statutory revenue remittance laws and refusal to honour invitations to appear before its Committee on Finance.
The warning followed a point of order raised during plenary by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, who accused the agencies of failing to comply with the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Finance Act 2022 by allegedly retaining a substantial portion of revenues that should have been paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Musa informed the Senate that the committee’s ongoing investigation had uncovered what he described as widespread non-compliance with the legal framework governing the management of government revenues. According to him, several agencies had allegedly reversed the statutory revenue-sharing formula by retaining about 80 per cent of their internally generated revenue while remitting only 20 per cent to the Federal Government.
He further alleged that some of the affected agencies had failed to make the required remittances since 2020, thereby withholding public funds running into billions of naira that should have accrued to the government.
The lawmaker also expressed concern over what he described as the continued disregard for legislative oversight, noting that despite repeated invitations, many of the affected agencies failed to appear before the Senate Committee on Finance to explain their revenue records and remittance practices.
Among the agencies named were the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited ), and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, among others.
Describing the allegations as a serious threat to fiscal accountability and transparency, Senator Musa urged the Senate to take decisive action to ensure compliance with existing laws and safeguard public resources.
The Senate President, while sustaining the point of order, described the allegations as weighty and deserving of immediate legislative attention. He noted that although Senate committees have limited powers to compel attendance, the Senate and the National Assembly possess constitutional authority to summon any public institution or official in the course of legislative investigations.
“This is a very serious matter,” the Senate President said, directing the Finance Committee Chairman to return to the chamber with a substantive motion outlining specific recommendations for Senate action.
The expected motion is likely to seek a formal summons compelling the affected agencies to appear before the Senate, a comprehensive reconciliation of revenue remittances by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission from 2020 to date, and the recovery of any funds found to have been unlawfully retained.
If the allegations are established, the Senate could invoke its investigative powers under Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to enforce compliance, including compelling the attendance of defaulting officials and recommending appropriate sanctions.
The development comes as the Federal Government continues efforts to strengthen fiscal discipline, improve revenue generation, and eliminate leakages in public finance as part of measures to support the implementation of the 2026 budget.
