The House of Representatives has mandated its Committee on Public Account to investigate the alleged mismanagement of COVID-19 intervention funds.
The directive followed a motion moved by Nyampa Zakari (PDP, Adamawa) on Tuesday during plenary.
In his motion, Mr Zakari said several ministries and agencies mismanaged the COVID-19 intervention funds during the pandemic.
The legislator said over N183.9 billion was allocated to the intervention funds through the federal budget. He also that other international donors allocated money to the funds.
“The disruption of economic activities necessitated the introduction of various programs, policies, and interventions to alleviate and boost the economies of families, small businesses, and public corporations.
The Federal Government of Nigeria initiated several measures including budgetary provisions as well as funding from International donor agencies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic on the citizens;
“A sum of N83.9 billion was appropriated for the COVID-19 response in the 2020 Appropriation Act as well as another sum of over N100 Billion as intervention funds through the supplementary budget and international donor agencies,” he said.
Mr Zakari said the alleged mismanagement was captured in one of the reports of the Auditor General.
He stated that the mismanagement could deter donor agencies from donating money to Nigeria in the future.
“Auditor-General’s report and other sources reveal that significant funds for COVID-19 palliatives and international donations were diverted and unaccounted for by various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government.
“Lack of proper accountability of funds allocated for COVID-19 intervention by the federal government and global donor agencies could potentially lead to negative economic ratings and loss of opportunities for Nigeria,” he said.
Speaking on the motion, Ahmed Jaha (APC, Borno), said the investigation is imperative because the House was once accused of benefitting from the COVID-19 intervention fund.
![House of representatives during plenary. [PHOTO CREDIT: Official Twitter handle of House of Reps.]](https://media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2020/06/EZrLBilXsAc5Gal.jpg)