By Obiabin Onukwugha
Nigeria’s House of Representatives is probing some agencies in the country’s Blue Economy sector, over sales and disposal of public property.
The agencies include the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA); Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA); Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC); River Basin Development Authority (RBDAS) and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
The probe was sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by Oluwole Oke, a lawmaker from Osun state, during plenary last week.
After the House adopted the motion through a voice vote, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, who presided over planetary, constituted an ad hoc committee to investigate the issues raised in the motion.
The committee, chaired by House Majority Leader, Julius Ihonbvere, is mandated to investigate the disposal of public property from 2010 to 2022, to unravel the extent of illegal auctioning of public property and non-remittance of revenue realised into the Consolidated Revenue of the Federation.
The committee is also expected to unravel the extent of illegal auctioning and non-remittance of revenue realised into CRF and report back in four weeks for further legislation.
In moving the motion, Oke said the procedures for the auctioning of government assets were spelt out in the Financial Regulations Act 2009 and Public Procurement Act 2007.
He said the 1999 constitution requires that all revenues realised from the auctioning of public properties be remitted into the consolidated revenue fund (CRF), pointing out that due process was not followed by the agencies in disposing public properties under them.
According to the lawmaker, proper valuation ought to be carried out on the assets designated for auction by the federal ministry of works, indicating the original cost price of the property, date of acquisition and realisable value.
Oke told the house that NPA, NIMASA, NRC, RBDAS and NCS have been auctioning public properties at ridiculous pricesand without following due process.
Speaking thereafter, the Ad hoc Committee Chairman, Julius Ihonbvere, said the committee will rely on relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives, and the inherent jurisdiction of the National Assembly to carry out the task.
“After exhaustive debate and consideration, the House set up an Ad Hoc Committee to investigate the matter and revert with recommendations. This task, to me and the entire members of this ad-hoc committee, is a very onerous one as the recommendations of the committee will be deep, thorough, and comprehensive; hence, we cut short our annual recess to holistically address the matter,” he said.
He pointed out that the committee had already notified the agencies on the probe, adding that members of the committee will equally visit the agencies in course of their investigations.
“In the course of this work, we have written letters to all the agencies concerned requesting information on the subject matter, and many of you did not bother to respond to our letter. We hope to physically visit the agencies, examine your books, and conduct a physical inspection of all public properties acquired to determine the ones sold and the procedures adopted for the exercise.
“As the representatives of the Nigerian people, we will deploy all constitutional means to ensure that we achieve the mandate of the House. I will drive this process in cooperation with my colleagues to the satisfaction and expectations of the people. In the course of this assignment, we will look at existing laws, including the code of ethics governing the operation of the public service”, he stated.