By Obinna Uballa
The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has summoned the chairmen of the six Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) over alleged financial breaches exceeding N100bn, following a damning indictment by the Auditor-General for the FCT.
Those affected are the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Abaji and Kwali.
The audit report for the year ended December 31, 2021, submitted to the Committee, revealed widespread cases of unremitted taxes and value-added tax deductions, failure to update fixed asset registers, and expenditures yet to be properly accounted for across the six councils.
In a statement issued on Friday by the PAC media unit, the Committee said the liabilities included unremitted pension deductions, unremitted Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE), unpaid capital project obligations, and unremitted VAT and withholding taxes owed to the Nigeria Revenue Service, FCT Inland Revenue Service, Pension Fund Administrators and contractors.
A breakdown of the unremitted liabilities showed that AMAC had outstanding obligations of N2.19bn, followed by Bwari Area Council with N1.49bn and Kwali Area Council with N1.46bn.
Gwagwalada Area Council recorded N1.01bn, Kuje Area Council N892.2m, while Abaji Area Council accounted for N593.8m, bringing the total to N7.65bn.
The Auditor-General also faulted the councils for failure to properly maintain and update their fixed asset registers, citing Gwagwalada Area Council where non-current assets valued at N336m were not adequately documented, creating room for possible asset losses.
The report further raised concerns over expenditure totalling N24.87bn incurred by the six councils in 2021 on personnel, overheads and capital projects.
“Despite an 89 per cent increase in total expenditure amounting to N11.7bn compared to 2020, the councils have not accounted for how 37 per cent of the expenditure purportedly allocated to capital projects was utilised,” the report noted.
According to the breakdown, AMAC spent N5.03bn, Gwagwalada N4.66bn, Kuje N3.85bn, Kwali N3.84bn, Bwari N3.74bn and Abaji N3.71bn.
Audit findings for 2022 and part of 2023 also identified multiple violations of financial regulations, including understatement of Internally Generated Revenue, unauthorised disposal of assets, non-disclosure of statutory revenue and failure to remit withholding taxes to the appropriate authorities.
Reacting, Chairman of the Committee, Mr Bamidele Salam, confirmed that the audit report had been received and that three separate letters had been issued to the chairmen and their respective finance directors, summoning them to appear before the Committee to respond to the audit queries.
The Osun lawmaker warned that the affected officials had been given a final opportunity to appear before the Committee on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, adding that failure to honour the invitation would compel the House to invoke its constitutional powers to order their arrest.
Salam also disclosed that the councils were indicted for failing to audit and submit their financial accounts for 2023, 2024 and 2025, contrary to statutory requirements.
He stressed that public funds must be managed with transparency and prudence, warning that any official found culpable would be held accountable in accordance with the law.
The summons, according to the Committee, forms part of its constitutional oversight mandate to examine audited accounts of public institutions, recover misappropriated funds and enforce compliance with financial regulations.
