182
By Tracy Moses
Despite its constitutional responsibility to provide checks on executive power and promote transparency, Nigeria’s House of Representatives has increasingly devolved into a stage for performative oversight. Investigations into corrupt practices, particularly financial sleeze are frequently launched with fanfare, accompanied by press briefings, fiery rhetoric, and protracted hearings, only to fade into obscurity, buried under red tape, political interference, or calculated indifference.
Between 2020 and 2024, the House initiated a series of high-profile probes targeting corruption, mismanagement, and systemic failure across key government institutions. Yet, despite the media buzz and public anticipation, few of these probes produced tangible outcomes. Reports were either never finalised, deliberately suppressed, or ignored.
Individuals and agencies under scrutiny emerged unscathed. What remains is a troubling picture of a legislative body trapped in a cyclical performance: noisy at the beginning, mute at the end.
One of the most glaring examples was the 2020 probe of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), led by then-lawmaker and current Interior Minister, Olujunmi Tunji-Ojo. The investigation, which centered on the alleged misappropriation of ₦81.5 billion by the Commission’s Interim Management Committee, unearthed damning evidence of entrenched corruption. Despite the uproar, the report was never debated on the House floor. Four years later, the findings remain untouched, a powerful example of how vested interests can derail legislative accountability.
That same year, Hon. Ossai Nicholas Ossai led a probe into Chinese-funded infrastructure loans amid fears that controversial clauses could threaten Nigeria’s sovereignty. The inquiry was indefinitely suspended under the pretext of maintaining “legislative unity.” Insiders, however, point to diplomatic pressure and executive pushback as the real reasons for its quiet burial.
A separate investigation into the disbursement of more than ₦100 billion in COVID-19 palliatives and agricultural loans, including the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, was also left unresolved. No final reports were issued. No hearings concluded. No officials held responsible. The effort simply vanished.
By 2024, the problem had only deepened. A committee chaired by Rep. Ikenga Ugochinyere was set up to investigate the distribution of contaminated fuel that damaged thousands of vehicles across the country. But just as public interest surged, the committee was quietly dissolved. Although House leaders pledged to reconstitute it, no replacement committee has emerged to date.
At times, political expediency or outright fear kills investigations before they even begin. In 2022 and 2023, Premium Times exposed a sprawling network of job racketeering and bribery operating inside federal ministries. Though lawmakers initially responded with outrage, no hearings were held. Sources say many legislators were reluctant to probe deeper out of fear that the trail might lead back to their own offices.
Some investigations never got past the planning stage. A proposed joint probe by the Senate and House into chronic sabotage in the petroleum sector collapsed due to procedural lapses, including failure to officially set up the committee.
Back in 2021, the House launched a probe into the disappearance of military-grade weapons amidst growing national insecurity. Led by then-Deputy Minority Leader Hon. Toby Okechukwu, the investigation uncovered serious procurement and oversight gaps. Still, the report never saw daylight. Observers attribute this to pressure from powerful actors within the military establishment.
A similar fate befell a probe into the fire-sale of public assets, such as the controversial ₦100 million sale of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) building in Lagos. After some initial committee activity, the investigation fizzled out without explanation.
The tech sector also witnessed probes that went nowhere. An investigation into ₦43.5 billion in failed satellite contracts under Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd. never published its findings. A broader inquiry into $30 billion in alleged foreign exchange leakages involving major oil firms and commercial banks also disappeared without a trace. Analysts point to the sheer economic might of the entities involved as a likely reason for the committee’s quiet retreat.
Experts believe these failures are not isolated but indicative of deeper systemic dysfunction. Legislative committees lack prosecutorial powers, and their recommendations hold no legal weight. Their success hinges entirely on the executive’s willingness to act. Even when wrongdoing is exposed, enforcement is rare.
Internal sabotage worsens the problem. Investigations are frequently disrupted or dissolved by House leadership, especially when politically sensitive matters are involved. Ambiguous House rules are often manipulated to stall momentum or bury evidence.
Bureaucratic ineptitude also plays a role. Some committees are hastily formed or fail to follow due process, making their reports legally toothless. Technical oversights are routinely exploited to kill off politically inconvenient findings.
Anthony Sani, public affairs analyst and former Secretary-General of the Arewa Consultative Forum, attributes the dysfunction to systemic failure and a weak judiciary.
“The public’s indifference to these probes mirrors the larger problem of governance breakdown,” Sani told Pointblanknews.com. “Our judiciary has failed to uphold anti-corruption laws effectively. Endless delays, procedural dismissals—these make the courts look like spider webs that only trap the powerless.”
For Sani, restoring credibility to oversight requires both structural and cultural transformation.
Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, President of the Centre for Change and founder of Women Arise, was even more scathing.
“It’s nauseating,” she said. “The stench of impunity is suffocating. Many lawmakers can’t demand accountability because they’re already compromised. Still, civil society must persist. We have no other country.”
When reached for comment, Hon. Joshua Audu (PDP, Niger State) insisted that most probes were still under consideration by anti-corruption agencies.
“No report has been adopted by the House yet,” he said. “These matters are best handled by the relevant committees.”
However, a House member who spoke anonymously offered a more damning assessment.
“Most of these ad-hoc committees are not meant to uncover anything,” he said. “They exist to serve internal interests, ‘chop money’ committees, if you like. Many of the chairpersons don’t have the competence for serious oversight. Leave probing to the EFCC and ICPC. Let the legislature focus on making laws.”
According to him, what remains is an endless cycle of empty rituals: probes launched for show, not results. This erosion of meaningful oversight, he warned, is damaging public faith in democratic governance.
Further proof came recently from EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede, who disclosed at a national conference that the anti-graft agency has never received a single audit or oversight report from the National Assembly for prosecution.
“How can parliament demand accountability if it doesn’t practice it?” Olukoyede asked. “Fiscal discipline must apply across the board. Lawmakers must walk the talk on transparency.”
He called for tighter collaboration between parliamentary committees and anti-corruption bodies, arguing that the current disconnect only emboldens impunity and weakens institutions.
Olukoyede also drew attention to deep-rooted opacity in Nigeria’s financial governance, especially in the oil and gas sector. From unverifiable figures to phantom projects and padded budgets, he described a system riddled with manipulation and fraud. Even digital platforms like GIFMIS and IPPIS, he said, are being exploited for illicit payroll schemes.
Despite several reform attempts, the EFCC boss lamented the wide gap between policy pronouncements and real action.
To bridge that gap, the EFCC recently established a Fraud Risk Assessment and Control Department aimed at identifying and closing fiscal loopholes. He also noted that the agency has recovered trillions of naira in the last 18 months, including a historic seizure of 750 luxury properties in Abuja, the largest real estate recovery in the country’s history.
Recovered funds, according to Olukoyede, are being redirected to critical initiatives like the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFund) and the CREDICORP consumer credit scheme. Some seized properties are now being converted into affordable housing for low-income Nigerians through a partnership with the Ministry of Housing.
Governance experts say the path forward lies in legislative reform. Oversight panels must be equipped with subpoena power, strict timelines, and automatic publication of reports. Their work must be insulated from political meddling.
A public-facing accountability dashboard, tracking all legislative probes, recommendations, and implementation status, is also essential. Only such measures can restore transparency and force political follow-through.
Each abandoned investigation, whether about missing arms, fake fuel, ghost projects, or job racketeering, chips away at democratic credibility. Every failure to act sends a dangerous message: that power remains immune to consequences.
Until the House shifts from grandstanding to genuine accountability, it will remain a theatre where justice is endlessly staged, but never truly delivered.