The House of Representatives on Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Wednesday resolved to probe the ulilization of the N2bilion paid to the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development for COVID-19 Intervention from the service wide vote account by the Federal Government.
The Committee chaired by Hon Busayo Oluwole Oke, took the decision when the agency led by its Acting Director of Finance and Accounts, Dzarma Levis, appeared before the committee to defend spending of releases made through the service wide votes of the Federal Government from 2013 to 2020.
The representative of the Agency could not give satisfactory explanations to all the questions raised by the members of the Committee on how the intervention fund was disbursed which prompted a member to call for a thorough investigation into how the huge amount was expended by the agency.
Consequently, the Committee set up a sub-committee to probe how the N2 billion was used.
According to Oke, “they collected N2 billion in 2020 for COVID intervention, the Committee has perused their submission and is not satisfied with the claims of the agency because the due process certificate presented was not signed.
“So the committee is worried. So the committee thus resolved that a sub-committee be set up to go and inspect the claims of what the agency claimed to have done with the N2 billion.”
This came just as the Committee demanded the full list of borrowed billions of Naira from the Bank of Agriculture over the years but had refused to pay up their debts.
Oke gave the directive when the agency led by its Acting Managing Directior, Ali Hassan appeared before the Committee on Wednesday.
Oke assured that the Committee would summon the affected debtors and encourage them on the need to pay up their debts so as to enable the bank to function optimally.
He however said that should the debtors failed to show commitment, the Committee would have no other option but publish their names in the national dailies
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