SIDE NEWS: Drama at Reps’ Public Accounts C’ttee, as invited agencies took to their heels

LEGISREPORTS NG – There was a mild drama today at the sitting of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts as the officials of the Inter-Country Centre for Oral Health, Jos, Plateau State, one the Agencies slated to appear before it took to their heels when it was time for the Agency to take its turn.

The Committee Chaired by Hon Solomon Adeola Olamilekan had invited the Agency along with others to appear before it over a sum of N2,993,269.00 released to it from the Service Wide Vote being managed by the Budget Office on behalf of the Federal Government .

However all the Agencies slated for the today’s sitting honoured the invitations extended to them including the Centre but when its officials observed the rigorous drilling of the officials of the Nigeria Law Reforms Commission led by the Secretary, Mrs A F Ogunneye by the members of the Committee over the disbursement of the sum of N191,376,170,06 release made to the Commission from the same Service Wide Vote between 2004 and 2012.

At the end of the drilling of the officials of the Nigeria Law Reforms Committee on the disbursement of the over N191.376m after which the Committee gave the Secretary a 72 hour ultimatum within which to reappear with all the relevant documents on the funds.

The Chairman of the Committee, Hon Olamilekan invited the officials of the Centre to take their seat but were no where to be found.

Efforts to locate the fleeing officials of the Centre by the staff of the Secretariat proved abortive

Reacting to the development, the Chairman of the Committee, Hon Olamileka said that the officials must appear before the Committee at a later day that would be determined soon to answer to the public funds collected from the budget office.

This report was prepared by our staff in Abuja.