HOR: PAC Directs Probe Of 2 Former Perm Secs

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission, ICPC, to investigate two former Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Ministry of Labour, Williams Alo and Yerima Tafa.

The investigation is related to an alleged over N3.2 billion financial infraction that occurred while they were in office.

The committee, Chairman Mr. Bamidele Salam, who announced the resolution in Abuja, expressed frustration over the increasing disregard for parliamentary summons by government ministries, departments, and agencies.

He said despite writing seven letters to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, the committee received no response, and the ministry failed to provide relevant documents to clear them of 32 audit queries from the 2020 audit report.

Salam emphasized that Alo and Tafa, as former accounting officers in the ministry, should be held liable for the infraction.

The committee also gave the current Permanent Secretary, Saliu Usman, 72 hours to appear before them to respond to seven audit queries from the Auditor General for the 2021 financial year.

Other Permanent Secretaries from the Federal Ministries of Transportation, Women Affairs, and Humanitarian Services have also been summoned to appear before the committee within 72 hours.

The committee is working to address queries from the 2020 and 2021 audit reports before the 2022 report is submitted in April.

Oduyemi Odumade, Edited By Grace Namiji