I’ll Account For N1bn Nasarawa Schools Renovation Fund- SSG

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I’ll Account For N1bn Nasarawa Schools Renovation Fund- SSG

Secretary to the State Government (SSG) of Nasarawa, Alhaji Aliyu Ahmed, has asked to be held responsible for the N1 billion secondary schools renovation contract, which is under probe by the House of Assembly investigation.

The SSG said this in Lafia when he appeared before the Assembly’s ad hoc committee to defend the N1 billion released when he was Commissioner for Education.

According to Ahmed, the money was spent judiciously for the renovation works it was meant for.

“I will take full responsibility for the outcome of the investigation if otherwise proven that the money expended in the execution of the projects was not commensurate to the work done,” the SSG said.

Earlier, chairman of the ad hoc committee, Daniel Ogazi, had said the house mandated the committee to get to the root of the matter.

According to him, the SSG has agreed and accepted before the committee that he is ready to take full responsibility for the outcome of the committee report.

Ogazi further revealed that the committee at its first sitting on March 23 gathered all the necessary information and documents from the ministry and would study them to come out with the comprehensive report on the matter.

“The committee I chair will submit its report to the House on Tuesday, March 31, for further necessary action by the Assembly on this matter,” he said.

He, however, explained that the investigation was in the interest of the education sector to correct the huge misappropriation leading to abandoned projects uncovered while carrying out their oversight function.

“We don’t care who did the job, but our concern is to ensure that the over N1 billion secondary schools project are done perfectly to salvage the education sector,” he said.

The chairman said the house would continue to use its constitutional power to ensure that the right things were done for the overall development of the state.

On March 17, the house had set up an ad hoc committee to investigate N1 billion secondary schools renovation contract awarded in 2018 by the state’s Ministry of Education.

It summoned Ahmed and the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Hajiya Fati Sabo over the matter.