By Gift Chapi Odekina
The House of representatives on Tuesday 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 over allege huge monetary expenditure of government funds as against the country’s financial rules.
This was sequel to a resolution of the house’ joint committees on anti corruption and public service matters at its inaugural sitting by the speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila in Abuja yesterday
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 which is 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 ICPC is conducting a systems review of the MDAs and their processes to uncover stolen funds from government treasury
According to Gad, the system review exercise has helped the government recover over N61 billion last year from the yearly unspent funds that accrue from personel costs, saying the support of the finance ministry has eased the exercise
“When we introduced the systems review of the MDAs, we discovered that most of the unspent monies were from personel costs. After payment of salaries, what ever remained would be diverted into individual pockets but we have been able to curtail that with the support of the ministry of finance” he said
Following indepth revelations by the ICPC representative on how the MDAs siphon public funds, the committee, chaired by Hon. Nicholas Garba stepped down the hearing to enable the heads of the relevant agency appear in person on a later date for further hearing
The lawmakers insisted that no other person than the heads of the MDAs were in the best position to explain in detail the information being sought by the committee to uncover stolen public funds
Briefing newsmen shortly after adjournment, Garba emphasized the need to clean up public finance fraud, mostly perpetrated through personel cost, an act he noted was responsible for inadequate capital projects across the country
Since the issue of corruption of nominal roles by the MDAs was brought up, any of the affected offices according to the chairman that does not appear is guilty of the allegations leveled against them.
Other public officials expected to appear before the committee are the Head of the Service of the Federation, Accountant General of the Federation, The Auditor General for the Federation and The Chairman Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC)
Others are the Chief Executive Officer, Federal Character Commission and the Officer in Charge of IPPIS,
Their failure to appear on the designated date according to the lawmakers would compel the house to issue a warrant of arrest on them
