The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has summoned the chairmen of the six Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to answer audit queries linked to alleged financial infractions running into over N100bn.
The move followed an indictment by the Auditor-General for the FCT, which flagged multiple breaches of financial regulations across Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Abaji and Kwali.
According to the audit report for the year ended December 31, 2021, the councils were cited for unremitted taxes, value-added tax (VAT) deductions, failure to update fixed asset registers and expenditures that were not properly accounted for.
A statement issued by the PAC media unit said the liabilities involved unremitted pension deductions, 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.
The report showed that AMAC had outstanding liabilities of N2.19bn, Bwari N1.49bn, Kwali N1.46bn, Gwagwalada N1.01bn, Kuje N892.2m and Abaji N593.8m, totalling N7.65bn.
The Auditor-General also criticised the councils for poor asset management practices. In Gwagwalada Area Council, non-current assets worth N336m were reportedly not properly recorded or updated in the fixed asset register, creating the risk of asset losses.
The audit further questioned how the councils spent N24.87bn in 2021 on personnel, overheads and capital projects, noting that despite an 89 per cent rise in total expenditure compared to 2020, 37 per cent of the funds allocated to capital projects could not be properly accounted for.
A breakdown of the spending showed that AMAC expended N5.03bn, Gwagwalada N4.66bn, Kuje N3.85bn, Kwali N3.84bn, Bwari N3.74bn and Abaji N3.71bn.
Audit reviews for 2022 and part of 2023 also uncovered further irregularities, including understatement of Internally Generated Revenue, unauthorised disposal of assets, non-disclosure of statutory revenue and failure to remit withholding taxes.
Chairman of the Committee, Mr Bamidele Salam, confirmed that letters had been sent to the chairmen and their finance directors, directing them to appear before the Committee to respond to the audit observations.
He warned that the officials had been given a final opportunity to appear on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, and that failure to comply would prompt the House to exercise its constitutional powers to compel their appearance.
Salam also disclosed that the councils failed to audit and submit their financial statements for 2023, 2024 and 2025 as required by law.
He stressed that the Committee would ensure accountability, noting that the PAC’s constitutional mandate includes examining audited accounts of public institutions, recovering misapplied funds and enforcing adherence to financial regulations.