Reps insist on Buhari’s approval on HYPREP account

A House of Representatives panel, yesterday, asked the Managing Director of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Demola Segunle, to provide the evidence of approval by President Muhammadu Buhari for the bank to operate two accounts belonging to the Federal Ministry of Environment outside TSA.

The panel, which is investigating the status of government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA), said the accounts, known as HYPREP, contained about N1 billion and $4.9 million respectively.

Chaired by Rep Abubakar Nuhu Danburam (APC, Kano), the panel said as far as TSA was concerned, only the president could give an express approval for any government money to be kept outside it.

But Segunle said the bank obtained a presidential approval which was conveyed to them via a letter signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, saying they do not have any other document signed by the president.

However, Danburam and other members of the panel said they must see the document that the president instructed the Chief of Staff to convey the approval to the bank.

The lawmakers said their insistence on sighting the document that Buhari himself signed was hinged on the fact that other organizations such as the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) provided a similar document.