The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) have again been summoned to appear before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee, investigating the nation’s subsidies on petroleum products from 2013 to date.
Chairman of the Committee, Almustapha Aliyu issued the summons after the duo, Godwin Emefiele (CBN) and Muhammad Mamman Nami (FIRS), failed to appear before the committee to respond to allegations that about N6.7 trillion was spent on petrol subsidy this year alone.
Representatives of Emefiele and Nami had been turned back by the committee on the grounds that they lacked the competence to respond to questions on the information being sought by the panel.
The Committee insisted that neither representative had authority letters from their respective principals for such representation.
“It is said that N6.7 trillion in less than a year is being expended on subsidy,” said Mark Gbillah, a member of the Committee.
“We could expect that the CBN Governor would come here personally to address such an issue and the FIRS chairman as well. I guess they believe this issue is not important enough for them to be here,” Mr Gbillah, who raised the observation, complained.
In reaction to the action of the FIRS boss, another member of the committee, Abdul Ganiyu Olododo, queried, “how can a chairman of an organisation like FIRS send an assistant, special assistant for that matter? It is an insult to this institution, and the sensibility of Nigerians,” he added.
The CBN governor and the FIRS Chairman were summoned to appear before the Committee on Monday, next week; otherwise, the Committee will proceed with its “constitutionally mandated course of action”.
RN
