Blackmail won’t make us suspend investigation in alleged NEMA fraud - Reps
- House of Representatives committee on national emergency and disaster preparedness says its investigations will go on
- The committee is investigating alleged fraud at the National Emergency Management Agency
- Director general of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Engineer Mustapha Maihaja was accused of fraud by House of Representatives
Investigations into alleged fraud at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) will go ahead and no amount of blackmail will stop it, the House of Representatives committee on national emergency and disaster preparedness says.
This was disclosed by members of the committee on Tuesday, April 17 during a press briefing at the National Assembly.
Premium reports that the press briefing was called to address allegations that some suspended directors of the agency, in league with the former Director General of NEMA had “formed an alliance with certain members and illegally procured and stolen papers from NEMA files in their bid to exonerate themselves and challenge their suspension.”
Johnson Agbonayinma while speaking on behalf of the committee said:
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“The attention of the House of Representatives has been drawn to reports in some national dailies, on the ongoing investigation by the House Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness on the “Need to Investigate Alleged Violation of Public Trust in National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
“We also want to put it on record that as at today there is no petition from any staff of NEMA to the committee or the House of Representatives.
“The issue of the suspended directors was mentioned by the director general, Engr. Mustapha Yunusa Maihaja himself during one of the committee hearing, when he introduced a new Director of Finance and we sought to know what happened to the former director and he admitted to suspending them.”
Going further, he said the committee wants to know whether the suspension followed due process.
“We have also observed with dismay, the ongoing campaign of calumny sponsored to pitch the House against the presidency, especially His Excellency, the vice president Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN.”
He added that Osinbajo’s only involvement was because the vice president is the chairman of the Governing Council.
“We therefore want to know if the council under the vice president authorised the suspension of the directors.
“Notwithstanding the provision of Section 89 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) which empowers the National Assembly to invite any person to appear before it, or its committee during investigations.”
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that the House of Representatives has accused the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Engineer Mustapha Maihaja of mismanaging N1.6 billion released to the agency by the Federal Government in July 2017 for relief intervention to flood victims in 16 states.
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According to the lower house, the huge sum was expended on contracts awarded to 216 companies that were not qualified for contract awards in the country.
The EFCC stage a walk against corruption on Legit.ng TV:
Source: Legit.ng
