The House of Representatives has summoned the Minister of Industry, Trade and investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, and the management of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to appear before it for its refusal to audit its financial account for six years.

The House Committee on Public Account’s summon on the minister and the management of SON to appear on Friday followed a unanimous adoption of a motion by Hon. Fredrick Agbedi during an investigative hearing on Tuesday in Abuja.

The Chairman of the committee, Hon. Wole Oke, said that SON had refused to honour several invitations to appear and explain why it had failed to render accounts from 2014 to 2019.

Oke ruled that they are to appear unfailingly on Friday by 11 a.m or the committee would be forced to invoke the relevant sections of the law.

He stated: “SON has refused to render account and even to appear before the committee for an investigation bordering on non-rendition of account.

“This agency has repeatedly refused to appear before this parliament; we do not believe that SON is bigger than the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or above the law of the land.

“If they have nothing to hide, they should appear and tell us why they have refused to render account to the Auditor General of the Federation.”

Oke said that SON is holding the auditor general of the federation hostage by not rendering its accounts.