The House of Representatives committee on public accounts is
investigating the ministry of agriculture over the award of contracts said to
be about N18.9 billion to firms during the COVID-19 lockdown.
At the investigative hearing on Tuesday, Oluwole Oke,
chairman of the committee, said the contracts were awarded to the companies for
bush clearing, land preparation and rehabilitation of soil and plant
laboratories.
The committee is probing queries raised by the office of the
auditor-general of the federation on ministries, departments and agencies
(MDAs).
“During the lockdown of the country as a result of COVID-19,
some companies took contracts worth about N18 billion for bush clearing from
the federal ministry of agriculture for land preparation, rehabilitation of
soil plant lab and others. We cannot shave their head in their absence,” Oke
said.
“So, we have invited
them to come and give us their own side by responding to the issues and showing
us the places they are supposed to have cleared. They have to take us to the
land they cleared.
“We have invited the ministry of agriculture and they have
made a submission. But some of our members whose constituencies these projects
were supposed to be domiciled doubted the existence of these projects and for a
fair hearing, we have invited the companies that got the contract for them to
come and tell this committee where and when the jobs were executed.
“We will wait till the end of the hearing today to see if
they will appear. If they are not here, we will have to do the needful to get
them to come.”
However, the invited companies did not show up at the
hearing.
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