The House of Representative has given 72 hour ultimatum to the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Oluwatoyin Madein, to submit detailed report on the use of the N100 billion COVID-19 Intervention Funds released by former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) between 2020 and 2022.
Bamidele Salam (PDP-Osun), the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts gave the ultimatum in Abuja, yesterday, as well frowned on the AGF’s refusal to comply with the resolution of the Committee to submit the report on October 27, 2023.
Salam said the lower chamber had mandated the Committee to investigate the expenditure incurred under the COVID-19 interventions, hence, directed the AGF to transmit the report before the close of work on November 3, 2023.
This trails an adoption of a motion on the ‘alleged mismanagement of COVID-19 intervention funds approved by the Federal Government for various MDAs between 2020 and 2022”.
Also, the House has resolved to investigate the money expended on the postponed 2023 Population and Housing Census by the National Population Commission (NPC), which amounted to N200 billion.
It said that the NPC had admitted to having spent N200 billion as part of the N800 billion budgeted for the 2023 Population and Housing Census, which was postponed.
Dominic Okafor who moved the motion during plenary expressed worry that the data collected in the 2006 population census was far from reality in 2023 and could not validly form a solid base for the formation of national economic policies that would aid the Federal Government in administering viable national planning.
