Reps probe Agric Ministry over N18.9bn contract for bush clearing

…During COVID-19 lockdown

Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Account, Wole Oke, has revealed that the House is investigating the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development over the award of contracts worth N18.9 billion to several companies to clear bushes during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Oke, who spoke at the resumed investigative hearing of the committee, said the House is interested in finding out the location of the projects and their significance.

The House, he said, has summoned officials of the ministry and the companies involved to appear before it.

But the companies that were supposed to appear before the House on Tuesday did not, and no reason was given for their absence.

Oke said the companies are to “appear before the committee on investigation of contracts awarded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of roads, bush clearing, land preparation and rehabilitation of soil and plant laboratories video utilisation of funds from Service Wide vote between 2013 and 2021, totaling N18,924,004,359.38”.

He added: “During the lockdown, 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 heads in their absence.

“So, we have invited them to come and give us their own side by responding to the issues and show 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 (officials) and they have made submissions. But some of their members, whose constituencies these projects were supposed to be domiciled, doubted the existence of the projects.

“For fair hearing, we have invited the companies that got the contracts for them to come and tell this committee where and when the jobs were executed.

“We will wait till the end of hearing today to see if they will appear. If they are not here, we will do the needful to get them to come.”