The planned probe of 2021 to 2023 Audit Reports on the oil and gas industry conducted by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) suffered set back in the Senate Monday as the concerned agencies failed to appear.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) involved in the probe were to appear at the public hearing organised by Public Accounts Committee of the Senate.
The committee chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwabo (Gombe North) had on the strength of audit reports presented to it by NEITI, organised a three-week long public hearing expected to be attended by heads and management teams of the affected agencies.
But at the start of the public hearing, none of the three invited agencies namely; CBN, NDDC and NUPRC, attended the session including management of NEITI, the author of the audit reports.
Miffed by their absence, the committee directed that management of the three agencies must unfailingly appear before it Thursday this week.
Senator Dankwabo, who announced the resolution, stated that failure by any of the affected agencies’ management to honour the rescheduled appearance, would attract serious sanctions as provided for by relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution and Senate’s Standing Order.
Earlier before the resolution, a member of the committee, Senator Babangida Hussaini (Jigawa North West) had strongly recommended that relevant provisions of the constitution and Senate rules be invoked against heads of the affected agencies.