•House of Representatives
The six Area Council Chairmen of the Federal Capital Territory have again failed to appear before the House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee to answer questions over alleged financial infractions totalling about N100 billion.
The chairmen had requested September 22, 2026, as the date for their appearance before the committee but failed to attend or send representatives, reports The PUNCH.
The committee has now issued a seven-day final summons to the Directors of Personnel Management and Finance, as well as Heads of Audit of the six councils, directing them to appear before it on October 14, 2026, or face sanctions in accordance with the relevant service rules.
The audit queries are contained in the Annual Audit Report of the Auditor-General for the Six FCT Area Councils for the year ended December 31, 2021.
The councils are Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali.
The report identified outstanding liabilities of about N7.65 billion arising from unremitted pension deductions, Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Value Added Tax (VAT) and withholding tax, as well as unpaid obligations to contractors.
A breakdown showed that AMAC had outstanding liabilities of N2.19 billion, followed by Bwari with N1.49 billion and Kwali with N1.46 billion. Gwagwalada accounted for N1.01 billion, Kuje N892.2 million and Abaji N593.8 million.
The audit report stated: “The Auditor General for the Six Area Councils reported in the annual report of the year 2021 that the Six Area Councils had outstanding liabilities of N7.6bn as at December 31, 2021 comprising unremitted pension deduction, unremitted Pay as You Earn (PAYE), unpaid capital projects, unpaid value added tax and withholding tax.”
The liabilities, according to the report, were due for remittance to the Nigeria Revenue Service, FCT Inland Revenue Service, Pension Fund Administrators and contractors.
The Auditor-General also faulted the councils for failing to properly maintain and update their fixed asset registers.
The report specifically cited Gwagwalada Area Council, where non-current assets valued at N336 million were allegedly not properly recorded and updated.
It stated: “The Auditor General for the Six Area Council reported that the value of non-current assets of Gwagwalada Area Council stood at N336m.
“However, the Auditor General observed that the ledger records of the non-current assets were not properly maintained and updated when due, which could give room for loss of assets without being traced. This exception is common among other FCT Area Councils.”
The audit report also raised questions over N24.87 billion spent by the six councils on personnel, overheads and capital expenditure in 2021.
The breakdown showed that AMAC spent N5.03 billion, Gwagwalada N4.66 billion, Kuje N3.85 billion, Kwali N3.84 billion, Bwari N3.74 billion and Abaji N3.71 billion.
The committee is seeking explanations and supporting documents for the expenditure, particularly the capital component.
Addressing journalists in Abuja today, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Bamidele Salam, said the councils had repeatedly failed to honour invitations or submit documents required to resolve the audit queries.
He said, “The last date of appearance of the Abuja Area Councils was September 22, 2026, which was a date they requested and which was graciously granted by the committee. Yet, they failed to appear or send in any representation.
“The Committee has therefore decided to issue summons to the Directors of Personnel Management and Finance of these local governments, including their Heads of Audit, to appear without fail on Wednesday, October 14, failure of which they will be made to bear consequences according to service rules.”
The committee also raised concerns over findings contained in audit reports for 2022 and part of 2023, including alleged understatement of Internally Generated Revenue, unauthorised disposal of assets, non-disclosure of statutory revenue and non-remittance of withholding tax to the appropriate authorities.
Salam further disclosed that the councils had failed to audit and submit their financial accounts for 2023, 2024 and 2025, contrary to statutory requirements.
He said public funds must be managed with transparency and prudence, warning that officials found culpable would be held accountable in accordance with the law.
The Public Accounts Committee is empowered under the 1999 Constitution, as amended, to examine audited accounts of public institutions and investigate financial irregularities identified by the Auditor-General.
The latest summons is the committee’s attempt to compel the relevant officials of the six FCT Area Councils to provide explanations and supporting documents on the outstanding audit queries.
