N24bn Pension Scam: Reps Summon Okonjo-Iweala, Others

Two committees of the House of Representatives yesterday summoned the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, over two separate issues.
One summons was by the Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Mr. Solomon Olamilekan.
The committee is investigating how the N24billion drawn from the Service Wide Vote in 2010 for the Police Pension Fund was utilised.
Incidentally, the same committee had summoned the minister last week over the alleged diversion of another N29billion to capital projects from the police pension fund.
She was yet to appear in respect of the first summons when the committee summoned her again yesterday.
Similarly, the Committee on Customs summoned Okonjo-Iweala yesterday over the Federal Government’s policy on rice importation, said to have cost Nigeria revenue loss of N300billion last year.
To appear with her in respect of the rice importation, are the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, and his counterpart in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Akinwumi Adesina.
The PAC had summoned Okonjo-Iweala after the Director-General of Pension Transitional Arrangement Department, Mrs. Nellie Mayshak, informed lawmakers that her office did not have documented evidence on how the N24billion was utilised.
Mayshak, who said she just resumed at the office, told the committee that the money was spent before her appointment.
She added, “We have no evidence, we have no record. It just looks bad on our part. We rather tell you the truth or make it up”.
But, the Internal Auditor of the Pension Office, Mr Adeyemo Adebolu, whom the committee called to react to Mayshak’s submission, confirmed that the N24billion was drawn from the SWV in 2010.
However, he claimed that he had advised that the money should be lodged in an account in a commercial bank.
He stated that he was later kept out of the picture when the withdrawals started.
Expressing surprise over his comments, Olamilekan said, “I am taken aback, because what you are telling us is that the Service Wide Vote is a slush account.
“It is an account that is used to settle the boys. We will not allow this to go under the carpet”.
Summoned to appear along with Okonjo-Iweala were the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr Jonah Otunla; Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr Samuel Ukura; and the Director-General of the Budget Office, Dr. Bright Okogu.
On rice importation, the Chairman of the Committee on Customs, Mr. Mohammed Nakudu, recalled that the government’s policy on rice importation had “caused ripples in the country and indeed caused a high loss to government revenue.”
He added that the ministers were required to explain how the policy cost the country revenue of over N300billion in 2013.

L-R:Panelists, Sen. Olorunnibe Mamora, Mr Femi Falana (SAN) and Mrs Joyce Akamuo, at an International Conference on Democracy and Good Governance in Port Harcourt, yesterday