On Thursday, the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives directed the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investments to reimburse the sum of N75bn initially allocated to it as COVID-19 intervention funds. The committee, chaired by Bamidele Salam (PDP, Osun State), made this decision following the non-appearance of ministry officials at its investigative hearing.
Bassey Akiba, a member of the Labour Party from Cross River State, initiated the motion urging the ministry to refund the funds during the committee’s sitting at the National Assembly. The motion was later adopted, and the committee directed the ministry to return the allocated funds to the Federal Government.
Expressing frustration over the ministry’s repeated failure to respond to invitations, Salam emphasized, “The Federal Ministry of Trade, Industries and Investments received N75bn as COVID-19 intervention funds. The Public Account Committee has sent invitations to the Ministry three times, and none of the invitations was honored.”
The committee also compelled the Ministry of Health to return N10bn, previously released for COVID-19 vaccine production, as it remained unutilized. Despite the ministry’s representative, Permanent Secretary Daju Kachallom, explaining that the funds were with the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the committee insisted on the return, suggesting the possibility of reapplication if the funds were still required.
In a parallel development, the committee directed Salihijo Ahmed, the Director General of the Rural Electrification Agency, to submit documents detailing the utilization of the agency’s COVID-19 intervention funds. Ahmed requested additional time and was instructed to submit the required documents by Friday close of work, with a subsequent appearance scheduled for Monday at 10 am.
