The House of Representatives has commenced investigations into the utilisation of take-off grants, bailout funds, and interventions allocated to government institutions, from 2015 to present.
The Special Committee received submissions from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Federal Ministry of Health, among others on Thursday.
On March 6, 2025, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas set up the special committee sequel to the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance, by the House Minority Leader, Rep. Kinglsey Chinda at plenary.
Chinda noted that over the years, various agencies and institutions, both old and newly created have received start-up funds and special financial support from the government to help with their initial operations and meet specific needs, including settling pending obligations.
He expressed concern that there have been ongoing reports pointing to the misuse or redirection of these funds, which may prevent them from being applied to the purposes for which they were originally intended.
According to him, such financial mishandling not only disrupts critical public services and projects but also results in major losses to the nation’s purse – resources that could have been channeled into crucial services and developmental efforts, as laid out in Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution.
Speaker Abbas, thereafter, setup a Special Committee to be chaired by Rep. Chinedu Martins to immediately launch a probe into the “Utilisation of take-off grants, bailout funds, and interventions allocated to MDAs, government institutions, and GOEs from 2015 to present.”
Standing in for the Governor of the Central Bank, the acting Director of Development Finance, John Hammah, assured the committee of the bank’s willingness to collaborate fully in helping it achieve its objectives.
Hammah, said he was representing Olayemi Cardoso, who is currently out of the country, appealed to the committee for some time to gather and organise the relevant details needed for their ongoing work.
He said: “Mr. Chairman and Honourable members, We got the invitation to appear before you yesterday and we hurriedly put this report together. We now understand the broad scope of your assignment and that you need accurate data covering the period 2015 to date. We plead with this committee to give us additional time to enable us to furnish you with to date report as requested.”
Following extended discussions, the Committee Chairman Chinedu Martins granted the Central Bank a two-week window, instructing that the CBN Governor must appear in person before the Committee on May 2, 2025.
In a similar move, a representative of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, James Abalaka, was also given two weeks to return with a detailed breakdown of disbursements, and highlighting which agencies received funds and the exact timelines.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was also in attendance, as the Commission’s Secretary, Muhammad Hammajoda, called on the Accountant General’s office to provide the EFCC with the necessary disbursement records related to the various MDAs.
“We want a formal report detailing the amounts and purpose of disbursement. This is the format we want the report to come from the secretariat. When we get these documents, we will sit down and analyse them,” he stated.
Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, Deputy Director Accounts, Olatunde Makinde, explained that the Ministry only received the Committee’s invitation earlier that Thursday.
To ensure accurate and complete information is provided, he requested additional time so the Ministry could gather the necessary documents before appearing.
“We don’t want to give you inaccurate information. We want to seek indulgence and understanding to give us time to reach out to the institutions under us and get an accurate view. There are many of them across the 36 states of the Federation,” he said.
Earlier, while declaring the investigation open the Speaker of the House of Representatives, represented by the House Leader, Rep. Julius Ihonvbere outlined the significance of the exercise.
He said: “The House has implicit confidence in the Committee’s capacity to conduct a thorough, impartial, and transparent investigation, engaging with relevant stakeholders, and gathering evidence to inform its findings.
“Our overall goal is to promote good governance, optimise public resource utilisation, enhance accountability in government business and equally strengthen our democracy.”
Also in his welcome address, the Committee Chairman, Rep. Martins reiterated that the purpose of the investigating hearing is to ensure that Nigerians get value for their money.
“It is imperative that we thoroughly investigate how these funds have been utilised, ensuring that every naira spent is accounted for and that it has truly benefited our citizens. Therefore, I would like to urge heads of agencies and organisations present today to provide truthful and accurate information to this committee in order to enable us to carry out our work.
“The hearing is not a witch-hunting exercise; rather, it is an opportunity for all stakeholders to come together in the spirit of cooperation. I assure all participants that we are committed to a fair hearing and respectful dialogue through this process,” he said.