House Summons Human Rights Commission Boss Over N724m Service Wide Votes

The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has summoned the Executive Secretary of National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Bem Angwe, to appear before it on Monday. The Executive Secretary is to explain how N724 million Service Wide Vote (SWV) allocated to his Commission was allegedly misapplied .

Chairman of PAC, Hon. Solomon Adeola Olamilekan, (APC, Lagos) issued the summon at a meeting with senior officials of the commission. Olamilekan told the Commission's staff that “we've invited your Executive Secretary to appear before us but he has deliberately refused to show up, this committee is giving him from now till next week Monday to show up or we will declare him wanted.” He explained that “all we need to hear from him is how the sum of N724m service wide vote was spent.”

The NHRC's accountant, Mr. Balarabe Sambo, tried to speak on behalf of the executive secretary but his plea fell on deaf ears.

Olamilekan insisted that “if by Monday he fails to show up here we will declare him wanted.”

Meanwhile, officials of the University of Ibadan were given three weeks to present all relevant documents pertaining to how the service wide vote allocated to the university was expended.

Also, the University of Port Harcourt was given the same timeline to submit same documents which include: names of contractors, amounts expended, their certificate of incorporation and bank statements.

SAINT MUGAGA, ABUJA