NEMA: Reps, AGF disagree over letter on relief materials
AHouse of Representatives panel and the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris, disagreed yesterday over a letter on an approval for disbursement of food items to victims of insurgency in the Northeast.
Members of the Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, investigating allegations lack of public trust the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) insisted that the accountant general must read the memorandum publicly. of in
However, the accountant general, represented by the director of funds, Mohammed Usman, declined to read the letter, citing security implications.
This led to the disagreement between two parties, even as none of the members of the committee led by the deputy chairman, Ali Isa (PDP, Gombe) were also willing to read the letter.
The letter reportedly emanated from the Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun and addressed to Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele.
The lawmakers asked Accountant General on the the involvement of his office in the food programme, but the director of funds said the AGF’s office was only involved in the disbursement of N5.8 billion to some of the companies engaged to mop up grains as part of the Federal Government’s Food Security Programme.
“We didn’t attend any meeting with the CBN, the Ministry of Agriculture or office of the Vice President on the procurement exercise. We only relied on directives from the CBN to disburse the fund,” he said.
However, members of the panel asked the representative of the accountant general to read a letter from Emefiele to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on the update on the National Food Security Programme, and he obliged.
But when the lawmakers produced another letter from Adeosun to Emefiele and asked the representative of the accountant general to read it, he declined for what he called “national security.”
“I want to believe that food security is a security issue. So, I appeal that discussing security issues in the public domain might not be the best for security purposes,” he said, adding that he be allowed to brief the lawmakers in closeddoor. In the end, the lawmakers accepted the plea.