Oluwatobi Adu 
ABUJA, Nigeria – The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee has summoned senior finance and personnel officials of the six Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area councils over longstanding audit queries involving billions of naira in public funds.
Committee Chairman, Bamidele Salam, on Tuesday said the Directors of Personnel Management and Finance, as well as Heads of Audit of the six councils, must appear before the committee on October 14.
“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,” Salam said. “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,” he added.
The councils under scrutiny are Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali.
The audit queries stem from the Auditor-General’s annual report for the year ended December 31, 2021, which identified outstanding liabilities of about ₦7.65 billion involving unremitted pensions, PAYE, VAT, withholding tax and contractor debts.
Abuja Municipal Area Council reportedly accounted for the largest portion of the liabilities, at about ₦2.19 billion.
The councils are also expected to explain and provide supporting documents for about ₦24.87 billion spent on personnel, overheads and capital projects during the same financial year.
The committee has raised additional concerns over the councils’ management of fixed assets, including about ₦336 million in non-current assets recorded by Gwagwalada Area Council that were reportedly poorly maintained.
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