Former President Goodluck Jonathan's most
trusted Minister Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been summoned to appear before
the House of representatives today 6 June to answer questions bordering the
Procurement Act, 2007 and a N 17billion pre-shipment fraud.
Former minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,
as well as her successor, Kemi Adeosun were summoned to appear before the house
committee overseeing the Procurement Act, 2007 over alleged abuse and breach of
the Act.
TDN learnt that others invited to appear
before the house includes a former Head of Service (HoS), Mr Steve Otunla, and
a former Accountant-General to the Federation (AoGF), Mr Jonah Otunla.
This is the first time Okonjo-Iweala would
be summoned by the House since leaving office Vanguard reports that the
committee had recently summoned Adeosun and some others over alleged payment of
N17 billion to five firms believed to be ghost companies as consultancy fees.
The committee, through its chairman, Oluwole
Oke, says the summoning of those affected is to ensure proper investigation.
Oke also issued a strong warning: “The shortest way to Kuje prison is through
breach of procurement laws.” He asked the invited stakeholders to bring with
them presidential approvals, letters of awards, agreements signed with the
contractors and performance records.
The report said members of the committee
decried the discrepancies between the submissions made by ministry of Finance
and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). According to the members, out of the 12
pre-shipment inspectors and two monitors who benefited from the N17 billion,
seven were appointed in line with due process while five were appointed through
the back door.
Oke recalled how a former governor of Bauchi
state and a former member of the House of Representatives, who were part of
those who promulgated the procurement law, were sentenced to five years
imprisonment for infractions. He further recalled how a former chairman of the
Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) was also sentenced to two years imprisonment for
breaching the Procurement Act before the Supreme Court intervened.
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