COVID-19 Funds: Reps To Track N60bn FERMA Projects
The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee, on Monday, resolved to track the 192 projects that the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency said it executed with N60bn COVID-19 funds released to it by the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
This was as the committee grilled the Chief Medical Director of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital over the spending of N949m COVID-19 intervention funds.
The Managing Director of FERMA, Emeka Agabasi, at the hearing on Monday, told the committee that the agency undertook 192 projects in the six geo-political zones and completed 186, with only six left uncompleted.
He said 34 of the projects were in the North-Central 34; 30 in the North-West; 32 in the South-West; 34 in the South-South; 27 in the South-East; and 35 in the North-East.
The lawmakers were, however, not impressed by documents submitted by the FERMA boss, saying, “We have only five copies of the documents we requested.
We have more than 30 members here. So, even if you give us 11 copies, it will still not be sufficient for the investigation.”
The committee subsequently decided that it would undertake a tour to inspect the projects.
Also, the CMD of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Prof Henry Ugboma, who appeared before the committee, stated that the hospital management received N949m in five tranches.
But the Chairman of the House Committee, Bamidele Salam, said the funds released to the hospital management were above what was appropriated by the National Assembly.
The committee then asked him to provide all the documents relating to all funds received, the contracts awarded as well as approvals from the Federal Executive Council and the Bureau of Public Procurement.
