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Reps Probe N447bn COVID-19 Spending …Summon NCDC, NAFDAC, Refugee Commission, 80 Others
The House of Representatives has summoned 83 ministries, departments, and agencies of the Federal Government as it begins an investigation into the alleged mismanagement of over N447.6billion COVID-19 intervention fund from 2020 to 2022.
A look at the budgets of the MDAs showed that, at least, 22 of them got not less than N447.6billion as COVID-19 funds in 2020 alone.
This implies that the COVID-19 intervention fund from 2020 to 2022 was way higher than the N447.6billion received by less than half the number of MDAs invited by the House of Representatives for the probe slated to begin from November 27, 2023, and end on December 4.
The House invited the Ministries of Agriculture and Food Security, Communications and Digital Economy, Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and scores of other Ministries, Department and Agencies.
The MDAs are to appear before the lawmakers to answer questions on alleged mismanagement of COVID-19 intervention funds distributed among them to fight the global health pandemic.
In an invitation issued by the Chairman of the Committee and a member representing Ede North/Ede South Federal Constituency, Osun State, Bamidele Salam, dated November 20, 2023, the lawmakers asked each of the MDAs to be represented by their “Chief Accounting Officers, Head of Finance, Head of Procurement and any other relevant officer to defend the expenditure contained in their various submissions.”
Those to appear before the Committee on Monday, November 27, include the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, FERMA, Federal Ministries of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, and Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
Others include the Federal Ministries of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mines and Steel Development, Water Resources, Health, National Hospital, Abuja, and National Directorate of Employment.
On Tuesday, November 28, the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps are expected to appear before the committee for the exercise.
Also billed to appear next Tuesday are the Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigerian Airforce, Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Army, Federal Fire Service, Rural Electrification Agency, University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja, National Commission on for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons Offices, Abuja, and the Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, Nasarawa State.
On Wednesday, November 29, it will be the turn of the Nigerian Institute for Medical Research, Lagos State; National Eye Centre, Kaduna State; National Ear Centre, Kaduna State; Ministries of Aviation, Industry, Trade and Investment; Federal Medical Centre, Bida, Niger State; Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja; Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi; Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, Abia State; Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State; as well as those in Katsina, Nguru, Yobe State, Asaba, Delta State and Gusau, Zamfara State.
The Salam-led committee will also play host to the Federal Medical Centre, Jaligo, Taraba State; Brini Kudu, Jigawa State; Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Azare, Bauchi State, Ebute-Metta, Lagos State, Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital Enugu among, others on November 30, 2023.
On December 1, the Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital Kware, Sokoto State; Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Yaba Lagos State; and the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Abeokuta, Ogun State; will take their turns before the committee.
The COVID-19 Intervention Programmes 2020 Appropriation Act (Amendment) captured only 22 MDAs out of the 83 that were invited for the probe.
Findings showed that among the 22 MDAs captured in the document, all teaching hospitals got N86bn as an intervention in 2020, making it the highest appropriation.
It was followed by the Ministry of Trade and Investment with N75billion, while the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency came next with N60billion.
The Ministry of Agriculture got N56.46billion, National Directorate of Employment, N52billion; Ministry of Aviation, N5billion; Ministry of Health, N23.64billion; NAFDAC, N2billion; NCDC, N2billion; NIPRD, N2billion; and NIMR, N1billion.
The NSCDC received N539,67million; Mines and Steel, N6billion; Ministry of Water Resources, N9.89billion; Rural Electrification Agency, N12.4billion; Ministry of Finance, N36billion; and Correctional Services, N951.14million.
The Federal Fire Service got N1.48billion; Refugees Commission, N2.5billion; Air Force, N2.7billion; Nigeria Police, N10billion and Humanitarian ministry, N32,46billion.
It was observed that the COVID-19 intervention funds were given to the ministries despite the huge budgetary allocations that some of them received over time.
For instance, the ministries of humanitarian affairs and women’s affairs got a budget of about N386.5billion between 2019 and 2023, based on findings.
The appropriations for the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 were N5.56billion, N8,19billion, N7.29billion, N33.58billion and N17.18billion, respectively.
For the humanitarian ministry, its appropriations in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 were N62.8billion, N7.29billion, N35.6billion, and 208.94billion respectively.
Reacting to the planned probe by the House of Representatives, the Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, said it was a merely reactive exercise.
He said the National Assembly should rather allow the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to lead a committee of persons with integrity to spearhead the endeavour.
“First and foremost, the House of Representatives is just being reactive. They ought to have been proactive by doing their oversight functions on the MDAs during the time that the COVID-19 palliatives were supposed to be released to the people who were affected by the lockdown, and other inconveniences during the pandemic”, Adeniran said.
Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.