The House of Representatives Committee on Federal Character has threatened to sanction the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) over its refusal to honour its invitation.
Chairman of the committee, Rep. Ahmed Idris Wase, issued the warning at the resumed investigative hearing of the committee on Thursday.
He expressed his displeasure over the failure of the revenue agency to appear before the committee despite being summoned on two different occasions.
Wase said the committee is empowered by sections 14(3)(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to investigate the composition of the government of the federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity.
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The committee chairman said it was its responsibility to investigate the level of compliance with the federal character provision in the recruitment of staff by ministries, departments and agencies of government.
He therefore threatened to invoke relevant sections of the constitution and sanction the FIRS if it failed to appear before it on or before 6th of August 2024.
The lawmaker condemned the action of the leadership of the FIRS and insisted that they must appear before the expiration of the ultimatum given to them.
He said the parliament will no longer tolerate such behaviour from heads and management of government agencies.
Wase said, “Failure to appear, the committee will be forced to take other measures to compel them to appear, as this is their last chance; the committee has taken sufficient trash from them. This is more than what we can tolerate.
“Failure to appear on the exact date, the committee shall invoke all its constitutional powers to compel them to appear.”
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