The House of Representatives’ ad-hoc committee investigating the “secret and illegal concession” agreement between the Federal Ministry of Finance and a private firm which will cost Nigeria over $30bn yesterday threatened to issue warrant of arrest on Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for her refusal to appear before committee.
Committee chair Rep Leo Ogor (PDP, Delta) who read out the summoned at the National Assembly yesterday said the minister failed to honour the invitation of the committee on 5th September and yesterday and gave no explanations for her absence.
The concessions was granted at the twilight of the last administration when Dr. Olusegun Aganga was Finance minister and document presented to the committee by the Corporate Affairs Commission indicates that whereas the ministry granted permission to Single Widows to carry out a feasibility survey of all Customs formations on the 29th, May, 2010, the company was registered on 10th June, 2010.
Ogor who is also the Deputy House leader declared that base on the provisions of section 88 and 89 of the 1999 constitution, the House may be compel to arrest the Finance minister if she fails to appear before it today by 12 noon.
Ogor read out a letter from Dr. Okonjo-Iweala addressed to the committee dated 12th September 2011 in which she informed the MPs that President Goodluck Jonathan had directed her to suspend the Single Window Technology Limited project and setting up a committee to investigate the matter.
He said the letter does not stop them from summoning the minister and that the National Assembly will not recognise the internal probe by the ministry.
Testifying before the committee, the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service Abdullahi Inde Dikko said the service was completely sidelined in the process leading to the award of the contract.
Similarly, the Office of Attorney General of the Federal and the Bureau for Public Procurement told the legislators that the concession agreement was illegal as due process was not followed and they were not informed of its existence.
Source: Daily Trust
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