The House of Representatives Committee on FCT Area Councils and Ancillary Matters has accused the chairmen of the six Area Councils of avoiding accountability for the billions of naira they receive monthly as allocations.
Committee Chairman, Hon. Fred Agbedi (PDP, Bayelsa), expressed disappointment and concern at a Tuesday meeting over the Area Councils’ chairmen’s repeated refusal to honor the committee’s invitations to appear and render accounts despite several requests.
Agbedi said: “As we are all aware, this Committee has the constitutional powers to oversight the activities of the various Area Councils in the FCT. The Committee’s oversight powers are rooted in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which grants the National Assembly the powers to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the FCT as contained in Section 299.
He said the Constitution also gives it power to exercise oversight over the executive arm of government (Section 88), conduct investigations into the activities of the Area Councils (Section 89), summon any person to appear before it (Section 89) and review and approve the FCT and ensure that funds are being utilized efficiently and effectively (See Order 18(3) of the Standing Orders of the House).
He said the committee has the statutory mandate to ensure that the Area Councils are operating in accordance with the law, and that the welfare of residents in the FCT is being adequately addressed and it is in line with this mandate, that several invitations have been sent out to the six Area Council Chairmen.
According to him, despite the importance of this engagement, the Area Council Chairmen have declined to participate, citing untenable reasons, adding that “the Chairmen’s conduct in this regard implies that they are not willing to account for their stewardship and the logical i1,nference is that, they are avoiding accountability.
“The committee views this refusal as a breach of their constitutional responsibilities and a disservice to the people they serve. The Committee’s oversight function is essential to ensuring accountability and good governance, and this refusal undermines these efforts,
“For the Past 7 or 8 months, the Honourable Minister of the FCT and the Minister of State has invited this Committee to flag off as well as commissioned several projects in the FCT and the Area Councils but the Chairmen of the Six Area Councils have neither flagged off, completed or commissioned any project in the Area Councils to the knowledge of the National Assembly Committees vested with the responsibility of oversighting them.
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“This is appalling considering the huge monthly allocation running into billons of naira to each of the six Area Councils within the last one year and beyond. This figure is outside taxes and rents, charges and other revenues collected by the councils.
“As a Committee, We will not hesitate to invoke our powers to ensure that the Area Councils are operating in the best interests of the people. We owe it to the residents of | the FCT to ensure that their welfare is being adequately addressed. We therefore call on the Area Council Chairmen to work fully with the Committee as any attempt to frustrate these efforts will be met with appropriate legislative sanctions.”