The six area council chairmen in the Federal Capital Territory have again failed to appear before the House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to respond to questions over alleged financial irregularities involving about ₦100 billion.
The chairmen had asked the committee to allow them appear on September 22, 2026, but when the date arrived, none of them showed up or sent representatives.
The affected councils are Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali.
Following their repeated absence, the committee has issued what it described as a final seven-day summons to the Directors of Personnel Management and Finance, as well as the Heads of Audit of the six councils.
The officials have been ordered to appear before the committee on October 14, 2026, or face sanctions under the relevant service rules.
The matter is linked to audit queries contained in the Annual Audit Report of the Auditor-General for the Six FCT Area Councils for the year ended December 31, 2021.
According to the audit report, the six councils had outstanding liabilities of about ₦7.65 billion as of December 31, 2021. The liabilities included unremitted pension deductions, Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Value Added Tax (VAT), withholding tax and 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 outstanding liabilities of ₦1.01 billion, while Kuje recorded ₦892.2 million and Abaji ₦593.8 million.
The audit report said the outstanding amounts were expected to be remitted to bodies including the Nigeria Revenue Service, FCT Inland Revenue Service, Pension Fund Administrators and contractors.
It stated that the liabilities comprised “unremitted pension deduction, unremitted Pay as You Earn (PAYE), unpaid capital projects, unpaid value added tax and withholding tax.”
The Auditor-General also raised concerns about how the councils managed their fixed assets, saying asset registers were not properly maintained and updated.
Gwagwalada Area Council was specifically mentioned over non-current assets valued at ₦336 million. The report said records relating to the assets were not properly maintained or updated, creating a risk that assets could be lost without being traced.
The report warned that the same weakness in asset management was common among the other FCT area councils.
Beyond the outstanding liabilities, the Public Accounts Committee is demanding explanations and supporting documents for ₦24.87 billion spent by the six councils on personnel, overheads and capital expenditure in 2021.
AMAC accounted for ₦5.03 billion of the spending, while Gwagwalada spent ₦4.66 billion. Kuje recorded ₦3.85 billion, Kwali ₦3.84 billion, Bwari ₦3.74 billion and Abaji ₦3.71 billion.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Bamidele Salam, said the councils had repeatedly ignored invitations and failed to provide documents needed to resolve the audit queries.
“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.
He said the committee had consequently decided to summon the Directors of Personnel Management and Finance, alongside the Heads of Audit of the six councils.
“They have to appear without fail on Wednesday, October 14, failure of which they will be made to bear consequences according to service rules,” he added.
Salam also disclosed that the committee had identified additional concerns in audit reports covering 2022 and part of 2023.
These concerns include alleged understatement of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), unauthorised disposal of assets, failure to disclose statutory revenue and failure to remit withholding tax to the appropriate authorities.
The committee chairman further revealed that the councils had not audited and submitted their financial accounts for 2023, 2024 and 2025, despite statutory requirements to do so.
Salam stressed that public funds must be managed with transparency, accountability and prudence, warning that officials found responsible for any wrongdoing would be dealt with according to the law.
The Public Accounts Committee derives its constitutional mandate from the 1999 Constitution, as amended, to examine the audited accounts of public institutions and investigate financial irregularities identified by the Auditor-General.
The latest summons is therefore intended to compel the relevant officials of the six FCT area councils to appear before the committee and provide the explanations and documents required to resolve the outstanding audit queries.
