The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has summoned the chairmen of the six Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) over audit queries linked to alleged financial breaches exceeding N100bn.
The action followed an indictment by the Auditor-General for the FCT, which highlighted multiple violations across Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Abaji and Kwali.
The audit report for the year ended December 31, 2021, cited the councils for unremitted taxes and VAT deductions, failure to update fixed asset registers, and expenditures that were not properly accounted for.
In a statement by the PAC media unit, the Committee said the liabilities involved unremitted pension deductions, Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE), unpaid capital project obligations, and unremitted VAT and withholding taxes owed to the Nigeria Revenue Service, FCT Inland Revenue Service, Pension Fund Administrators and contractors.
A breakdown showed AMAC with N2.19bn in outstanding obligations, Bwari N1.49bn, Kwali N1.46bn, Gwagwalada N1.01bn, Kuje N892.2m and Abaji N593.8m, totalling N7.65bn.
The Auditor-General also faulted the councils for poor asset documentation. In Gwagwalada, non-current assets worth N336m were reportedly not properly recorded in the fixed asset register.
The report further queried how the councils spent N24.87bn in 2021 on personnel, overheads and capital projects, noting that despite an 89 per cent increase in expenditure from 2020, 37 per cent of funds allocated to capital projects could not be properly accounted for.
Spending details showed AMAC expended N5.03bn, Gwagwalada N4.66bn, Kuje N3.85bn, Kwali N3.84bn, Bwari N3.74bn and Abaji N3.71bn.
Audit findings for 2022 and part of 2023 also revealed issues including understatement of Internally Generated Revenue, unauthorised disposal of assets, non-disclosure of statutory revenue and failure to remit withholding taxes.
PAC Chairman, Mr Bamidele Salam, confirmed that the chairmen and their finance directors had been invited to appear before the Committee on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, to respond to the queries.
He warned that failure to honour the summons could lead the House to invoke its constitutional powers to compel their appearance.
Salam also disclosed that the councils failed to audit and submit their financial statements for 2023, 2024 and 2025, contrary to statutory requirements, stressing that the Committee would ensure accountability in the management of public funds.
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