By Christel odili
Senate Public Account Committee (SPAC) has threatened to issue a warrant of arrest on the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun
if she fails again to honour the Committee’s invitation to appear before it to explain her role in ine billion dollars Euro bond. The SPAC investigative hearing was given four weeks to submit it’s report and the failure of the Minister of Finance and Debt Management Office (DMO) to appear before the Committee has made it to work behind schedule.
Senator Matthew Urhoghide, chairman of the Committee said Tuesday at its meeting: I want to say very clearly that we are here because public fund is involved. If the Minister of Finance fails to honour our invitation, we will issue warrant of arrest. DMO and the Minister of Finance must be here Thursday next week”.
For those who attended this Tuesday SPAC meeting like the Minister of Power Works and Housing reprsented by the Permanent Secretary General Electric and Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), the chairman had some warning for them. “Those of you giving us documents today, it’s unfair; give us documents at least 25 hours before our meeting”.
SPAC is investigating alleged misappropriation of 350 million dollars being part of Euro bond offer given to Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET). Instead of the money being used to put NBET in proper financial status to be able to deal with electricity generating companies (GENCOs) and distribution companies (DISCOs), the money was taken to Afam Fast Power Project.
This is the misappropriation the Senate mandated the joint committee on Power and Public Account to investigate and it invited all those mentioned such as the Ministry of Power, that is using the Afam Fast Power Project as platform to drive the project, General Electric that is in partnership with Ministry of Power, the Finance Ministry which directed NBET to place the money in NSIA. The committee also wanted NBET to come and say where the money is, and NSIA which is a bank to NBET to come and explain what is between them.
The DMO that did borrowing on behalf of the country also has some explanations to make as to how they brought the money here and gave 350 million dollars to different agencies on the instructions of the Minister of Finance.
The Senate, after the motion that raised questions about 350 million dollars that was misappropriated also said that the Euro bond was actually 1 billion dollars, what happened to the balance of 650 million dollars? The Senate in that same resolution mandated the committee to investigate the balance. On the floor that day it was disclosed that 150 million dollars was given to TCN for whatever purpose, 500 million dollars to NNPC for another purpose. All these agencies have been invited by the committee, but they are testing the will of the committee.