The Senate has withdrawn its earlier motion urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sack the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Hussaini Magaji, for failing to appear before its Committee on Finance for the annual budget defence.
The decision followed the Registrar-General’s appearance before the committee on Monday, after facing a sack threat during last Thursday’s sitting.
The Senate Committee on Finance had earlier alleged that Magaji repeatedly ignored its invitations to defend the commission’s annual budget.
Addressing the committee on Monday, the CAC Registrar-General apologised for his absence, explaining that he was unavoidably delayed while returning from an official trip to Lagos.
He expressed regret, stating that his absence was not deliberate.
“Mr Chairman, I sincerely apologise to the committee. I was returning from Lagos and asked my team to inform the committee ahead of time. Unfortunately, I arrived late.
“We have now created a dedicated liaison office to handle interactions with the National Assembly. I assure you this will not happen again. I take full responsibility and hold this committee in high esteem,” he said.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Committee Senator Sani Musa at the Monday hearing informed the RG and his management team that investigation of Ministries and Agencies of government is a statutory responsibility of the parliament.
Senator Musa said continued evasion of investigations of the Corporate Affairs Commission is a breach of the Constitution as such the Committee resolved to send a memo to the presidency recommending his removal from office.
However, following the Registrar-General’s expression of remorse and plea for understanding, some members of the committee, including Senator Diket Plang, Senator Yahya Abdullahi and Senator Isah Jibrin, intervened.
Consequently, the committee on Monday rescinded its earlier decision and withdrew the motion seeking his removal from office, as announced by the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Muhammad Sani Musa.
Other agencies, apart from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), including the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), were present at the session.
However, discussions on their budgets were deferred due to incomplete documentation, and the committee rescheduled their appearances for Thursday this week.
Cov/Bashir M
