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LAGOS – The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) has condemned the increasing trend of flagrant disregard for the constitutional authority of the National Assembly by some heads of government agencies and parastatals.
The anti-graft organisation, in a statement released in Lagos at the weekend, lamented that some heads of Federal Government’s agencies and parastatals had persistently failed to honour invitations or appear before legislative committees carrying out their legitimate oversight functions.
CACOL, in the statement signed by Tola Oresanwo, its Director, Administration and Programmes, on behalf of the Chairman, Debo Adeniran, noted that legislative oversight is a cornerstone of democratic governance.
It stressed that the powers of the legislature to investigate the activities of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are clearly provided for under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It stated: “When public officials deliberately ignore summons or invitations from the parliament, it undermines transparency, weakens accountability mechanisms and erodes public confidence in democratic institutions.”
CACOL particularly expressed concern about recent reports that the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the operations, funding sources and performance of Development Finance Institutions threatened to invoke its constitutional powers to compel the appearance of the Bank of Industry (BoI) after the bank failed to honour its invitation to appear before the committee.
It maintained that such conduct sends a troubling signal that some public officials believe they are above the law and beyond legislative scrutiny.
CACOL added: “Similarly, lawmakers recently expressed serious concern over the persistent refusal of the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Hussaini Magaji, to honour invitations from the Senate Committee on Finance, prompting calls within the Senate for his removal over repeated disregard for legislative oversight.
“In another disturbing development, the House of Representatives Committee on Science and Engineering was forced to step down consideration of the 2026 budget of the National Centre for Technology Management after its Director-General, Olushola Odusanya, failed to appear before the committee to defend the agency’s proposal.
“These examples are not isolated incidents, but appear to reflect a growing culture of institutional arrogance and disregard for democratic accountability among some public officials.”
CACOL reminded all heads of government agencies that they are custodians of public trust and are therefore accountable to the Nigerian people through their elected representatives.
It added: “Refusing to honour legislative invitations or sending junior officers in place of chief executives when critical issues of policy, finance and performance are under scrutiny is unacceptable and constitutes a serious affront to democratic governance.”
