Members of the House of Representatives on Wednesday engaged in a rowdy session over the procedure to adopt in considering a damning report by the House Committee on Public Accounts on the alleged non-remittance of about N16 trillion to the federal government by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

While the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Bamidele Salam, moved that the CBN Governor be invited to appear before the House at plenary, some lawmakers argued that an ad-hoc committee should be constituted to interface with him and report back.

Others insisted that the House should invoke its powers and formally summon the CBN Governor to appear before the Public Accounts Committee to address the issues raised in the report.

Another group of lawmakers maintained that, given the magnitude of the amount involved, the CBN Governor must be compelled to appear before the Committee of the Whole, rather than a single committee.

The Chief Whip, Usman Bello Kumo, and the Minority Whip struggled to calm agitated members as they moved from one lawmaker to another to restore order amid the shouting match.

The Speaker also battled to control the situation, describing the conduct as unparliamentary.

He warned that members who persist in such behaviour risk being referred to the Ethics Committee, stressing that shouting would not secure their demands.

Ahmed Jaha eventually moved a motion that the CBN Governor and other relevant stakeholders be summoned to appear before the Public Accounts Committee, failing which sanctions would apply. The motion passed through a voice vote.

Jaha argued that referring the matter to the Committee of the Whole could undermine the confidence of the Public Accounts Committee and others handling similar reports, adding that the House must not encourage government officials to disregard its invitations.

Sada Soli (APC, Katsina) said the President must pay special attention to the revelations contained in the motion as it was coming from a constitutional committee headed by the opposition. (The Nation)

Update news