FCT councils face fresh summons after chairmen miss audit hearing

The six area council chairmen in the Federal Capital Territory have again failed to appear before the House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee to answer questions over alleged financial infractions involving about ₦100 billion.
The chairmen had requested to appear on September 22, 2026, but neither attended nor sent representatives. The committee has now issued a final summons to the councils’ directors of personnel management and finance, and their heads of audit, directing them to appear on October 14 or face sanctions under the relevant service rules.
The affected councils are Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali.
The queries are contained in the Auditor-General’s annual report on the six councils for the year ended December 31, 2021. It recorded about ₦7.65 billion in outstanding liabilities, including unremitted pension deductions, Pay As You Earn tax, value added tax and withholding tax, as well as unpaid contractor obligations.
AMAC had the largest liability, at ₦2.19 billion, followed by Bwari with ₦1.49 billion and Kwali with ₦1.46 billion. Gwagwalada owed ₦1.01 billion, Kuje ₦892.2 million and Abaji ₦593.8 million, according to the report.
The Auditor-General also raised concerns about asset records across the councils. Gwagwalada was cited over non-current assets valued at ₦336 million that were not properly recorded and updated, creating a risk that assets could be lost without being traced.
The committee is seeking explanations and supporting documents for ₦24.87 billion spent by the councils on personnel, overheads and capital projects in 2021.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, PAC chairman Bamidele Salam said the councils had repeatedly failed to attend hearings or provide documents needed to resolve the audit queries.
Salam said reports for 2022 and part of 2023 raised further concerns, including alleged understatement of internally generated revenue, unauthorised disposal of assets and failure to remit withholding tax. He also said the councils had not audited or submitted their financial accounts for 2023, 2024 and 2025.
The committee is empowered by the Constitution to examine public accounts and investigate financial irregularities identified by the Auditor-General.