N100bn FCT Audit Queries: Reps Give Area Council Officials Seven Days to Appear

The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has given officials of the six Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Councils a fresh seven-day deadline to appear before it over unresolved financial queries running into nearly N100 billion.

The committee, chaired by Bamidele Salam, took the decision after the chairmen of the six councils failed to honour an earlier invitation to appear before the lawmakers on September 22, 2026 — a date they had reportedly requested themselves.

Under the latest summons, the Directors of Personnel Management and Finance, alongside the Heads of Audit of the six councils, are expected to appear before the committee on October 14. The lawmakers warned that failure to comply could attract sanctions in line with applicable service rules.

The affected councils are Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali.

The summons is linked to a series of financial issues identified in the Auditor-General’s Annual Audit Report covering the six FCT Area Councils for the year ended December 31, 2021.

One of the major concerns raised in the report was about N7.65 billion in outstanding liabilities across the councils. The liabilities included unremitted pension deductions, PAYE, VAT and withholding tax, as well as unpaid obligations to contractors.

AMAC recorded the largest liability at N2.19 billion, followed by Bwari with N1.49 billion and Kwali with N1.46 billion. Gwagwalada had outstanding liabilities of N1.01 billion, while Kuje and Abaji recorded N892.2 million and N593.8 million, respectively.

The Auditor-General said the outstanding funds were owed to tax authorities, Pension Fund Administrators and contractors.

But the lawmakers’ concerns go beyond unpaid liabilities.

N24.87bn expenditure under scrutiny

The PAC is also demanding explanations and supporting documents for N24.87 billion spent by the six councils on personnel, overheads and capital projects during the period under review.

Advertisement

AMAC accounted for N5.03 billion of the expenditure, while Gwagwalada spent N4.66 billion. Kuje recorded N3.85 billion, Kwali N3.84 billion, Bwari N3.74 billion and Abaji N3.71 billion.

The audit report also questioned the councils’ management of fixed assets, noting that asset registers were not properly maintained or regularly updated.

Gwagwalada, in particular, was queried over non-current assets valued at N336 million, with the Auditor-General warning that poor record-keeping could make it difficult to trace assets that might be lost or improperly disposed of.

More questions emerge from later audits

PAC Chairman Bamidele Salam said the committee’s concerns had widened following its review of the councils’ 2022 and part of their 2023 audit reports.

He said lawmakers had uncovered issues including alleged understatement of internally generated revenue, unauthorised disposal of government assets, failure to disclose statutory revenue and non-remittance of withholding taxes to the appropriate authorities.

The committee also raised concerns over the failure of the councils to audit and submit their financial accounts for 2023, 2024 and 2025 as required by law.

Salam expressed frustration over the repeated absence of the council chairmen, saying their failure to appear had slowed efforts to obtain answers and resolve the outstanding audit queries.

With the new summons, the committee has shifted its focus to senior administrative, finance and audit officials of the councils, who are now expected to provide the documents and explanations required by the lawmakers.

The PAC said it would pursue the matter until the outstanding issues are addressed, stressing that public officials responsible for financial irregularities would be required to account for the use of public funds.