The Senate Committee on Finance on Monday rescinded its earlier decision, urging President Bola Tinubu to terminate the appointment of the Registrar-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Hussaini Magaji, over his repeated failure to honour invitations from the panel.
The committee withdrew its recommendation after Mr Magaji tendered an apology during a meeting with lawmakers.
The committee’s decision to withdraw its earlier recommendation followed a motion moved by a member, Isah Jibrin, and seconded by another member, Musa Daura.
The motion was adopted through a voice vote.
Before the motion was put to a vote, the committee chairperson, Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), accused the CAC Registrar-General of consistently evading appearances before the panel and demanded a detailed explanation.
“This committee is not happy with you for your persistent refusal to appear before it in the past or for sending junior officers to it. That’s not acceptable.
“The Constitution grants us oversight powers over all revenue-generating agencies. At our last sitting, the committee recommended your removal, but you appeared shortly after our pronouncement. We want an explanation, “he said.
Apologies
In his response, Mr Magaji attributed his previous absences to communication gaps between his office and the committee members.
He apologised for the action and noted that he had established a liaison unit within his office to bridge the communication gaps.
“Mr Chairman, I sincerely apologise to the committee. I was returning from Lagos and asked my team to inform the committee ahead of time. Unfortunately, I arrived late.
“We have now created a dedicated liaison office to handle interactions with the National Assembly. I assure you this will not happen again. I take full responsibility and hold this committee in high esteem,” he said.
Following his apology, several committee members appealed for the rescission of the earlier decision.
Diket Plang, the senator for Plateau Central, was the first to speak in Mr Magaji’s defence, describing him as respectful, dedicated, and patriotic.
Other senators, including Ned Nwoko (Delta North), Jibrin Isa (Kogi East) and Orji Kalu, who initially moved the earlier motion to recommend his removal, also spoke.
The committee chairperson subsequently put the matter to a voice vote, and the majority supported the rescission.
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Mr Musa then formally announced the withdrawal of the earlier motion calling for Mr Magaji’s removal and directed him to submit a detailed report of the agency’s financial accounts for 2024 and 2025 ahead of its budget presentation.
Earlier motion
Last Thursday, Mr Kalu (APC, Abia North) moved a motion recommending Mr Magaji’s removal, referencing his repeated failure to honour invitations despite several warnings. The motion was adopted by voice vote, and the committee directed that the recommendation be forwarded accordingly.
Mr Musa, the committee chairperson, said it had concerns over the CAC’s revenue reconciliation and criticised the registrar-general for repeatedly delegating appearances to junior officials.