Reps Probe Anyim, Maku’s N100bn Releases

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts (PAC) is investigating how the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) led by Anyim Pius Anyim and the   Ministry of Information under Labaran Maku used N100.561 billion disbursed to them between 2004 and 2012.

This was contained in the audit query issued by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (AGF) to the Office of the SGF and the ministry and presented to the Public Accounts Committee led by Mr. Solomon Adeola Olamilekan for investigation.

According to the query, several releases were made to the office of the SGF totalling N94,005,343,963.81 between 2004 and 2012 from the Service Wide Vote.

The breakdown of the disbursements are as follows: N255,958,528.13 (2004), N1,532,179,551.70 (2005), N19,157.972.00 (2006), N1,451,468,535.80 (2007), N26,247,716,599.54(2008),N42,568,850,413.24 (2009),N3,791,265,906.58 (2010),  N10,189,067,264.53 (2011) and N7,949,679,192.29(2012).

Anyim was expected to appear before the committee last Thursday to defend how the money was expended over the years but could not make it due to official engagements. He is expected to appear on Wednesday this week for the defence with relevant documents already demanded by the committee.

The Federal Ministry of Information was said to have received N6,558,048,253.13 from the same vote between 2004 and 2012.

The breakdown is as follows: N108,464,985.19 (2004), N251,142,635.00 (2005) , N4,412,262,691.94 (2007), N167,500,000.00 (2009),N153,093,712.00 (2010) and N1,180,584,271.00 (2012) respectively.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information, Dr. Sade Yemi-Esan, stunned the members of the committee on Friday when she told them that the ministry had no single document on the releases made to it between 2004 and 2009 totalling over N4.6 billion. But she agreed with the figures quoted for between 2010 and 2012.

Piqued by the revelation, Olamilekan directed the permanent secretary to go back and search for all relevant documents relating to the disbursement which had already been confirmed by the Debts Management Office, and to reappear before the committee on Wednesday.

Olamilekan expressed deep concern over the reckless manner by which the Service Wide Vote accounts were being abused over the years by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), saying that between N900 billion and N1 trillion was withdrawn from the account between 2004 and 2012 with nothing to show for it.

He threatened that the committee would not hesitate to recommend the scrapping of the account or reduce it to five per cent of what it used to be.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Committee on Power has doubted the ability of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to deliver its mandate of supplying electricity to rural parts of the country.

The committee also expressed dismay over the deplorable situation of electricity in the country as a result of the dismal performance of the new companies handling the sector.

“It is clear and obvious that we are sliding back to the position where we were some months back before the privatisation, though the minister and the Presidential Task Force on Power did say it was due to massive vandalism of gas pipelines and sabotage of their equipment,” the committee said.

This development followed last weekend’s discovery that the agency has been unable to spend the N5 billion earmarked in 2013 and received in July by the authorities for the execution of rural electrification projects in the country as well as other sundry allegations of corruption bedevilling it.

A statement made available to reporters in Abuja yesterday said the Chairman of the Committee, Patrick Ikhariale, who led other members on an oversight visit to the Ministry of Power expressed shock when the Minister, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, declared that the ministry could only use 18 per cent of the N5 billion it received in July this year.

According to the statement, the committee had during the visit also demanded an explanation on the $1.2 billion China Exim Bank loan and sought to know the level of local content involved in it for the Hydro-Electric Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPADEC).

The committee also expressed concerns over the sustainability of “Light up Nigeria” for selected mega cities and “Light up rural Nigeria” projects for rural communities in the country.

“This is December and less than three weeks to the end of the year, what kind of miracle do you want for the money that has been in your possession for the past five months? You have this money with you and Nigerians have been crying for power, this calls to question, your capacity to spend funds allocated to your agencies,” the committee chairman said.

Responding, the minister who pleaded for patience, assured that 80 per cent of the money would be used before December 20 as contract details on the projects had been concluded with the contractors already commissioned for the job.

He said: “Only last week, I blasted the agency myself but the fact is that there are pressures. Politicians, technocrats, businessmen, everybody want something from the agency. Please, when you want to strike, take some factors into consideration before you strike. This is a young agency and these challenges, I believe, would be surmounted as time goes on”.

Chairman, Association of Justices of the Peace, Rivers State, Deacon G. S. Bereiweriso JP (right), presenting an award to Group Deputy News Editor of The Tide newspaper, Dr Alpheus Paul-Worika, on behalf of The Tide newspaper, during its 4th Annual General Assembly, in Port Harcourt, last Wednesday.