Reps summon SGF, minister over corruption in MDAs

• Probe fire service over N1b recruitment, logistics funds
• Senate okays forensic, fraud examiners bill, three others for concurrence

House of Representatives, yesterday, summoned the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha and the Minister for Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to appear before it and clear the air on huge monetary expenditure of government funds without recourse to extant financial rules.

This was sequel to a resolution of the House joint committees on Anti-corruption and Public Service Matters at its inaugural sitting presided by the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila.

The Speaker, who was represented by the House Leader, Alhassan Doguwa, lamented the absence of heads of the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) at the public hearing, aimed at curtailing theft of public funds by government officials.

The representative of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), Bako Gad, a consultant with the commission, told the lawmakers that the ICPC is conducting a systematic review of the MDAs and their processes to uncover stolen funds from the government treasury.

According to Gad, the system review exercise has helped the government to recover over N61 billion last year from the yearly unspent funds that accrue from personnel costs, saying the support of the finance ministry has eased the exercise.

Other public officials expected to appear before the committee include the Head of Service of the Federation, Accountant- General of the Federation, the Auditor-General for the Federation and Chairman of ICPC, among others.

BESIDES, the House, yesterday, uncovered how the Federal Fire Service (FFS) expended over N1 billion on recruitment and logistics between 2017 to date without recourse to laid down financial rules.

The House gathered that the Service simultaneously expended monies on the said exercise during the period in question when there was actually only one recruitment exercise held in the period under review.

Commandant-General (CG) of the Service, Ibrahim Liman, who appeared before the House Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Oluwole Oke, could not give satisfactory answers to the lawmakers on the issues raised.

The CG also failed to back up his explanations with relevant documents, necessitating the committee to write to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) seeking the account statements and expenditure of the Service.

IN another development, the Senate has passed four bills due for concurrence.

They include Chartered Institute of Forensic and Fraud Examiners Bill, Nigerian Law Reform Commission Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2022; National Orientation Agency Act (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and Nigerian Institute of Chartered Foresters Bill, 2021.

The bills, sponsored by the Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North), were passed before the Upper Chamber adjourned plenary yesterday.