The House of Representatives has resolved to launch an investigation into what it regards as the illegal auctioning of Federal Government (FG) properties by some agencies.
The Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and three other agencies have been accused of illegal auction of some properties owned by the Federal Government.
The three other agencies allegedly involved are the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) and the River Basin Development Authority (RBDA).
This is sequel to the adoption of a motion moved by Rep. Oluwole Oke (PDP-Osun) during plenary on Thursday in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
In his motion, Oke said that the procedure for the disposal and auctioning of government assets in Nigeria were well spelt out in Financial Regulations, 2009 and Public Procurement Act 2007 among others.
According to Oke, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) provides that all revenues realised from the disposal or auctioning of public property be remitted into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
He alleged that the NPA, NIMASA, NRC, NCS and other RBDA had been auctioning public property not only at a ridiculous price but also without following due process.
He advanced that partial remittance or non-remittance of revenue realised from the auctioning of public property into a consolidated revenue fund was a breach of the constitution.
He expressed concern that if the practice continued, coupled with dwindling crude oil revenue in Nigeria, the government might not cope with the rising demand for accelerated infrastructure
Following his submission, the House thereafter resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the disposal of public property by the affected agencies.
This, according to the House, would cover the period between 2010 and 2022 with a view to establishing the extent of the alleged illegal auctioning of public property and the non-remittance of revenue realised into the consolidated revenue purse.
The committee would report to the House within four weeks for further legislative action.
