Reps Investigates How COVID-19 Funds Were Managed

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, on Monday, kicked off a full-scale probe into the alleged mismanagement of the COVID-19 intervention funds by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government.

AbnTV reports that in October 2023, a member of the House, Nyampa Zakari, moved a motion for the probe of MDAs, accusing them of mismanaging funds totalling N183.9 billion meant to address the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2023.

Addressing the opening session, the committee chairman, Bamidele Salam, warned MDAs that the committee would not listen to pleas for an extension of time.

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He said, “The committee is probing over 60 MDAs over several billions of naira intervention funds allocated to them during the COVID-19 and we have given them enough time to prepare for this exercise.

“The committee will not entertain any extension of time from any of the MDAs. The Committee is not after any individual or groups, we are going to be diligent in carrying out our assignment.”

This is just as the lawmaker charged the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to make available relevant and competent personnel to assist the committee in delivering its assignment.

Some of the MDAs that appeared before the committee on Monday included Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi State; Federal Ministry of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy; Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security; Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Federal Road Maintenance Agency, among others.

The committee directed the Chief Medical Director of the ATBUTH, Prof Yusuf Jubrin, to reappear before it on Thursday with relevant documents to back up the funds released to the institution to fight the then global pandemic.

While questing the acting Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy, and the Procurement Officer, Mohammed Ibrahim and Mrs Margret Ebute, respectively; members of the committee faulted the documents submitted before it and directed the officials to go back and reappear with relevant documents, including vouchers, documentary evidence on the expenditure of the N3 billion allocated for the ministry during the period

The committee also frowned on the awards of several contracts on the same day and the claim of exclusive rights of certain contractors to provide certain services in flagrant disobedience to the Federal Character principle.