The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee said on Thursday that the failure of the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr Zacch Adedeji, to appear before its members after multiple invitations was a contempt of parliament.
PAC Chairman Bamidele Salam mentioned this during the continued investigation into revenue leakages in government agencies in Abuja.
The committee had previously suggested using its powers to issue a warrant of arrest for any Head of Ministries, Departments and Agencies who did not attend its invitation while carrying out its oversight function.
During the Thursday event, Salam stated, “This is the fourth time the committee has invited the FIRS chairman but he failed to show up.”
“As well as sending official letters, we have also ensured that such letters were delivered personally to his mailbox and WhatsApp number.
“And we criticize and describe it as irresponsible and arrogant, and we warn him that there will be consequences if he continues this contempt of parliament.”
He highlighted that many letters were sent to Adedeji with no responses, and mentioned that the value-added tax that should go to the Federal Government has not been collected by FIRS.
He said “By the time we finished our reconciliation, the money would be in hundreds of billions,” adding that this was what they were asking the FIRS to come and collect, but the service had refused to show up.
Last week, President Bola Tinubu urged members of the National Assembly to be cautious in inviting heads of MDAs.
Tinubu stressed that while oversight is crucial for maintaining transparency and accountability in governance, the frequent summons of heads of government agencies could affect service delivery to the people.
”I have been watching various committees summoning ministers and heads of agencies,” the president said.
“I have complained to the speaker to let the poor breathe. Let these people do the job. We are not saying that you are not influential. We are not saying you cannot do your oversight.
“But consider the primary duty of each agency, its staff, or the roles of the governor of the central bank or the coordinating minister of the economy and minister of finance to you and the entire nation.
”If they are distracted or disturbed, maybe we will shift parliamentary sitting all through the night. We must find a way to accommodate one another.
“This is an appeal to you. See if you can accept representatives in some instances or even documentation,” he added
The president reiterated his belief in the constitutional powers of the national assembly to uphold good governance through oversight responsibilities on the executive.
