By Oluwakemi Kindness
The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has uncovered fresh concerns in the 2022 and part of the 2023 audit reports of six Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Councils.
This include alleged understatement of internally generated revenue, unauthorised disposal of assets and failure to remit withholding tax.
The committee also disclosed that the councils has outstanding liabilities of about N7.65 billion as of December 2021, involving unremitted pension deductions, taxes and unpaid contractors, according to the Annual Audit Report of the Auditor-General for the six councils.
PAC Chairman, Rep. Bamidele Salam, disclosed the latest findings on Tuesday while explaining the committee’s decision to issue a final summons to officials of the councils.
The six council chairmen had requested September 22, 2026, to appear before the committee but failed to attend or send representatives.
Consequently, the committee summoned the Directors of Personnel Management and Finance and Heads of Audit of Abaji, AMAC, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali councils to appear on October 14.
The committee warned that failure to comply with the summons would attract sanctions under the relevant service rules.
The 2021 audit report put the outstanding liabilities at N2.19bn for AMAC, N1.49bn for Bwari, N1.46bn for Kwali, N1.01bn for Gwagwalada, N892.2m for Kuje and N593.8m for Abaji.
The liabilities included pension deductions, PAYE, VAT, withholding tax and payments owed contractors, which were due for remittance to relevant authorities and beneficiaries.
The audit also flagged weaknesses in fixed asset management, including failure by some councils to properly maintain and update their asset registers.
The committee further noted that the councils failed to audit and submit their financial accounts for 2023, 2024 and 2025 as required by law.
Salam said the committee would ensure that public funds were properly accounted for and that officials found culpable would be held responsible.
