The six Area Council chairmen in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory have again failed to appear before the House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee to answer questions over alleged financial infractions involving about ₦100 billion.
The councils involved are Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali.
According to the committee, the chairmen had requested 22 September 2026 as the date for their appearance but neither attended nor sent representatives.
The development has prompted the committee to issue a seven-day final summons to the Directors of Personnel Management and Finance, as well as the Heads of Audit of the six councils.
The officials are expected to appear before the committee on 14 October or face sanctions under the relevant service rules. (Channels Television)
The audit queries stem from the Annual Audit Report of the Auditor-General for the Six FCT Area Councils for the year ended 31 December 2021.
The report identified outstanding liabilities of about ₦7.65 billion across the six councils. The liabilities include unremitted pension deductions, Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Value Added Tax (VAT) and withholding tax, as well as unpaid obligations to contractors.
AMAC recorded the highest outstanding liability at ₦2.19 billion, followed by Bwari with ₦1.49 billion and Kwali with ₦1.46 billion. Gwagwalada had ₦1.01 billion, while Kuje and Abaji recorded ₦892.2 million and ₦593.8 million respectively. (Channels Television)
The Auditor-General also raised concerns over the management of fixed assets, noting that asset registers were not properly maintained and updated.
Gwagwalada Area Council was specifically queried over non-current assets valued at ₦336 million which, according to the report, were not properly recorded and updated.
The committee is also seeking explanations and supporting documents concerning ₦24.87 billion spent by the six councils on personnel, overheads and capital projects in 2021.
AMAC accounted for ₦5.03 billion of the expenditure, followed by Gwagwalada with ₦4.66 billion, Kuje with ₦3.85 billion, Kwali with ₦3.84 billion, Bwari with ₦3.74 billion and Abaji with ₦3.71 billion. (Channels Television)
Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Bamidele Salam, said the councils had repeatedly failed to honour invitations and provide documents required to resolve the audit queries.
He said the committee had therefore decided to summon the relevant finance and audit officials, stressing that they must appear on 14 October.
The committee also disclosed that further audit reports covering 2022 and part of 2023 had raised concerns including alleged understatement of internally generated revenue, unauthorised disposal of assets, non-disclosure of statutory revenue and failure to remit withholding taxes.
The councils have also been faulted for failing to audit and submit their financial accounts for 2023, 2024 and 2025, contrary to statutory requirements. (Channels Television)
The Public Accounts Committee said the latest summons was intended to compel the relevant officials to provide explanations and supporting documents needed to resolve the outstanding queries.
