The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has summoned the chairmen of the six Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) over alleged financial infractions exceeding ₦100 billion, as contained in reports from the Office of the Auditor-General.
The affected councils are Abaji, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali.
According to the Auditor-General’s report for the year ended December 31, 2021, which was submitted to the committee, the councils were found to have committed widespread financial breaches. These include failure to remit tax and Value Added Tax (VAT) deductions, poor maintenance of Fixed Asset Registers, and expenditures that were either inadequately documented or not accounted for.
The report revealed that the six councils collectively recorded outstanding liabilities of ₦7.65 billion as of December 31, 2021. The liabilities include unremitted pension deductions, Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) taxes, unpaid capital project obligations, unremitted VAT, and withholding taxes owed to the Nigeria Revenue Service, FCT Internal Revenue Service, Pension Fund Administrators and contractors.
A breakdown showed that AMAC had the highest outstanding obligation at ₦2.19 billion, followed by Bwari with ₦1.49 billion and Kwali with ₦1.46 billion. Gwagwalada recorded ₦1.01 billion, Kuje ₦892.2 million, while Abaji had ₦593.8 million in liabilities.
The Auditor-General also faulted the councils for failing to properly update and maintain their Fixed Asset Registers. In Gwagwalada Area Council alone, non-current assets valued at ₦336 million were not adequately documented, raising concerns about possible loss without trace. Similar lapses were reportedly identified in other councils.
The audit further raised concerns over total expenditure of ₦24.87 billion incurred by the councils in 2021 on personnel costs, overheads and capital projects. Despite an 89 per cent increase in spending — amounting to ₦11.7 billion compared to 2020 — the councils were reportedly unable to properly account for 37 per cent of funds allocated to capital projects.
Expenditure figures showed that AMAC spent ₦5.03 billion; Gwagwalada, ₦4.66 billion; Kuje, ₦3.85 billion; Kwali, ₦3.84 billion; Bwari, ₦3.74 billion; and Abaji, ₦3.71 billion.
Audit findings for 2022 and part of 2023 also uncovered several violations of financial regulations, including understatement of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), unauthorised disposal of assets, non-disclosure of statutory revenue, and failure to remit withholding taxes.
Reacting to the report, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Rep. Bamidele Salam, confirmed that the audit reports had been received and reviewed. He disclosed that three separate summons had been issued to the chairmen of the six councils and their Directors of Finance, directing them to appear before the committee to answer the audit queries.
Salam warned that the officials have been given a final opportunity to appear on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, adding that failure to comply would leave the House with no option but to invoke its constitutional powers to order their arrest.
He further revealed that the councils were also indicted for failing to audit and submit their financial accounts for the years 2023, 2024 and 2025, in clear violation of statutory requirements.
The PAC chairman stressed that public funds must be managed with transparency and accountability, warning that any official found culpable would face consequences in line with the law.