The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts yesterday asked the Federal Ministry of Industries, Trade and Investments to refund the N75 billion allocated to it as COVID-19 intervention funds to the coffers of the government.

The committee also asked the Federal Ministry of Health to return to government coffers N10 billion meant for vaccine production, which was not utilised for that purpose.

The committee gave the directive to the two ministries at the resumed investigative hearing on the expenditure of the COVID-19 intervention fund by MDAs.

The committee frowned at the refusal of the Ministry of Industries to honour its invitation on three occasions without any excuse.

Adopting a motion by Bassey Akiba (LP, Cross Rivers), the committee asked the ministry to refund the money appropriated to it during the intervention on COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

It said the money should be refunded with immediate effect to government coffers.

The committee adopted the motion after it was seconded and directed that the ministry refund the funds to the Federal Government.

Committee Chairman Bamidele Salam (PDP, Osun) had informed members that despite series of invitation extended to the ministry, its officials had failed to respond or appear before the committee.


Salam said: “The Federal Ministry of Industries, Trade and Investments got N75 billion as COVID-19 intervention funds. The Public Account Committee has sent an invitation to the Ministry of Industries, Trade and Investments three times, and none of the invitations has been honoured.

“The Federal Ministry of Trade was to make their appearance yesterday. That was the last opportunity given to them, but there was no such appearance. The sum of N75 billion was appropriated to them.

“A former Permanent Secretary and the current Permanent Secretary are affected by this motion to refund N75 billion to the Federal Government as COVID-19 intervention which, as far as we are concerned, has not been expended.”

The committee also directed the Federal Ministry of Health to return N10 billion meant for the production of COVID-19 vaccines but was not utilised to the government.

The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Daju Kachallom, had informed the committee that the funds were domiciled in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

The committee said the funds should be returned, adding that if the ministry needed it for anything else, they should make a fresh request to the National Assembly for proper appropriation.

Also, the committee asked the Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Salihijo Ahmed, to submit documents on the utilisation of the agency’s COVID-19 intervention funds before the close of work today.

The Public Accounts Committee is investigating 56 Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on the utilisation of COVID-19 intervention funds after a resolution on a motion by Zakariah Dauda Nyampa (PDP, Taraba).
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