Covid Funds : PAC Commences Investigation

By Oduyemi Odumade

The House of Representatives
Public Accounts Committee, PAC has commenced investigation into alleged mismanagement of COVID-19 intervention funds from 2020 to 2023 as mandated by the House at Plenary.

At the Opening Session in Abuja, the Chairman of the Committee, Bamidele Salam warned that the Committee would not entertain delay tactics from the Ministries Departments and Agencies, MDAs by way of asking for extension of time.

He explained that the Committee was probing over 60 MDAs over several billions of Naira intervention funds allocated to them during the COVID-19 and had given them enough time to prepare for the 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 deligent in carrying out our assignment” he said.

Salam urged the Accountant General of the Federatiom to make available relevant and competent personnel to the Committee to facilitate the assignment.

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

The Committee directed the Chief Medical Director of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital Bauchi, Prof Yusuf Jubrin to reappear before it on Thursday with relevant documents to back up the funds released to the institution during the period.

While grilling the Acting Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy and the Procurement Officer, Mohammed Ibrahim and Mrs Margret Ebute the Committee members picked several holes in the documents submitted before it.

Consequently, the Committee directed the officials to go back and reappear with relevant documents, on the expenditure of the N3billion allocated for the Ministry during the period.

The Committee also frowned at the award of several contracts on the same day and the claim of exclusive rights of certain contractors to provide certain Services without following principles of the Federal character and due process.

They also faulted the claims of the ministry on the expenditure on training programes organized during the total lockdown in the country and directed it to provide relevant documents on it and the venue of such training programes.

Edited By Grace Namiji