House Of Reps Summon 83 MDAs Over N184bn COVID-19 Fund ‘Mismanagement’
The House of Representatives has invited no fewer than 83 Ministries, Departments and Agencies to appear before its Public Accounts Committee investigating the alleged mismanagement of the COVID-19 intervention funds.
This followed the recent adoption of a motion by Hon. Nyampa Zakari.
The Green Chamber mandated the committee to investigate the alleged mismanagement of the funds. Zakari had said several ministries and agencies mismanaged the COVID-19 intervention funds during the pandemic.
“A sum of N83.9bn was appropriated for the COVID-19 response in the 2020 Appropriation Act as well as another sum of over N100bn as intervention funds through the supplementary budget and international donor agencies,” he said.
Zakari said the alleged mismanagement was captured in one of the reports of the Auditor General.
The chairman of the committee, Bamidele Salam, said the MDAs were to be represented by their Chief Accounting Officers, Heads of Finance, Heads of Procurement and any other relevant officer to defend the expenditure contained in their various submissions.
The committee listed the affected MDAs in groups A, B, C, D, E and F.
Those under Group A are to appear before the committee on November 27. They are the the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, the Ministry of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy, the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, the Ministry of Aviation, the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the National Directorate of Employment.
Those to appear on November 28 are the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Nigeria Air Force, the Nigeria Police Force, the Federal Fire Service, the Rural Electrification Agency, the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi; the National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons Offices and the Federal Medical Centre Keffi.
The invited MDAs in Group C are the Nigeria Institute for Medical Research, the National Eye Centre, Kaduna; National Ear Centre, Kaduna; Federal Medical Centre, Bida; Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja; Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi; Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia; Federal Medical Centre, Owo; Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta; Federal Medical Centre, Owerri; Federal Medical Centre, Katsina; Federal Medical Centre, Nguru; Federal Medical Centre, Asaba and Federal Medical Centre, Gusau.
MDAs under Group D are to appear on November 30. They are Federal Medical Centre, Jalingo; Federal Medical Centre, Birnin Kebbi; Federal Medical Centre, Yenegoa; Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Matta; Federal Medical Centre, Yola; Federal Medical Centre, Yola; Federal Medical Centre, Azare; Federal Medical Centre, National Orthopedic Hospital, Enugu; National Orthopedic Hospital, Igbobi Lagos; Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Enugu; Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Kaduna; Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Kaduna; Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Calabar and the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Maiduguri. Under Group E are Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto State; Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos; Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Abeokuta; Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Benin; Federal Teaching Hospital Ebonyi; Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe; Federal Teaching Hospital Ado Ekiti; Lagos University Teaching Hospital; Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital; University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital; University of Benin Teaching Hospital; Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital; University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital and Jos University Teaching Hospital.
Those under Group F are to appear before the committee on December 4. They are University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital; University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital; Usman Dan-Fodio University Teaching Hospital; Aminu Kano University Teaching Hospital; Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital; Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital; Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Edo State; University of Uyo Teaching Hospital; National Obstetric Fistula Centre, Katsina and University College Hospital Ibadan.