Urge INEC to disqualify candidates not in submitted party registers

The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has issued a final seven-day summons to officials of the six Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Councils over unresolved audit queries involving about N100 billion.

Also, its Committee on Host Communities confirmed the receipt of a petition from the Niger Delta Oil-Producing Communities Reform Movement (ND-OCRIM) concerning the pipeline surveillance contract held by Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL).

This was as its Committee on Electoral Matters urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to audit party membership registers and disqualify 2027 election candidates whose names were not listed as stated by the Electoral Act 2026.

The PAC took the decision after the six area council chairmen again failed to appear before it to respond to questions arising from audit reports on their financial activities.

The chairmen had requested September 22, 2026, for their appearance before the committee. However, they neither appeared nor sent representatives to answer the lawmakers’ questions.

Following their absence, the committee directed the Directors of Personnel Management, Directors of Finance and Heads of Audit of the six councils to appear on October 14, 2026.

The affected councils are Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali.

PAC Chairman, Bamidele Salam, said the committee had repeatedly given the councils opportunities to respond to the queries but they continued to disregard its invitations and requests for documents.

He noted that the latest summons would serve as the final opportunity for the councils to appear and provide explanations on the financial issues raised against them.

The audit queries include about N7.65 billion in outstanding liabilities recorded against the six councils in the 2021 Auditor-General’s report.

The liabilities cover unremitted pension deductions, Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Value Added Tax (VAT), Withholding Tax (WHT) and unpaid obligations to contractors.

AMAC accounted for about N2.19 billion, followed by Bwari with N1.49 billion, Kwali N1.46 billion, Gwagwalada N1.01 billion, Kuje N892.2 million and Abaji N593.8 million.

The Auditor-General linked the liabilities to obligations owed to revenue authorities, Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and contractors.

CHAIRMAN, House Committee on Host Communities, Dekor Robinson, who confirmed this via a statement made available to Parliamentary Correspondents in Abuja, assured all the stakeholders that the committee would submit its findings and recommendations to the House for further consideration and appropriate legislative action.

The petition, received by the committee on September 15, 2026, raises allegations concerning the implementation of the contract and calls for a comprehensive investigation into the management and utilisation of funds received by PINL under the pipeline surveillance arrangement.

The petitioners also urged the committee to establish the total amount PINL received under the contract, determine how it was utilised, and ascertain the extent to which resources were deployed to protect the nation’s critical pipeline infrastructure.

Among other requests, the petition seeks a forensic review of PINL’s financial records and transactions, including transactions involving directors and related entities, as well as an assessment of the welfare and working conditions of personnel engaged in pipeline surveillance.

IN a statement yesterday, the chairman of the electoral matters committee, Bayo Balogun (APC), drew the commission’s attention to the Supreme Court ruling on sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) and called for full enforcement on all political parties.

He said pending legal proceedings concerning the interpretation, constitutionality and enforceability of the sections was over by the virtue of the Supreme Court’s judgment.

The lawmaker recalled that the Supreme Court, on September 24, restored the provisions after setting aside the Court of Appeal judgment that had declared them unconstitutional.

According to him, the apex court held that the provisions were not inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution.

Balogun explained that Section 77(5) provides that only members whose names are contained in the membership register submitted to INEC are eligible to vote or be voted for at party primaries, congresses and conventions. He added that Section 77(6) requires political parties to use the register submitted to the electoral umpire for such exercises.