The Senate has moved to compel Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, to comply with its resolutions amid alleged growing disregard for parliamentary oversight duties by the agencies.

Top among the penalties approved by the Senate is zero budgetary allocations to MDAs and all statutory and non-statutory bodies flouting resolutions arising from motions passed on the floor.

A latest report by the Senate Committee on Legislative Compliance named the Ministry of Works; Ministry of Health; Ministry of Power; Ministry of Petroleum Resources; Ministry of Information; Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction; Ministry of Environment; and Ministry of Solid Minerals Development among the defaulters that will risk zero allocation of funds in 2027.

Also listed in the details of the report obtained in Abuja are the Department of State Services, DSS; Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC; National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA; Nigeria Revenue Service; Nigeria Railway Corporation, NRC; Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, HoS; Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA; and the Ecological Fund Office.
The committee, chaired by Senator Garba Maidoki, had investigated the non-implementation of 27 resolutions passed by the Senate by the affected MDAs, leading to the recommended penalties.

The Senate, acting on powers conferred under Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and Order 95(A) Rule (7) of its Standing Orders, 2026, set up the committee to monitor compliance with Senate resolutions by MDAs and other bodies.

The finding prompted the recommendation on zero allocations, especially as the committee noted that some of the agencies either simply ignored the resolutions or failed to honour invitations to make appearances in the course of the investigation.

Recall that similar recommendations came to the fore last week from the Senate Committee on Finance following the lackadaisical attitudes of some Ministries, Departments and Agencies towards the oversight functions of the committee.

The report noted that while it is within the powers of the Senate to make resolutions, the authority to act on them lies with the executive, which in this instance, failed to perform its own part of the chain.