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Reps want FG to suspend contributions to Lake Chad Basin
The House of Representatives on Thursday urged the Federal Government to suspend Nigeria’s contribution to the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC).
The House wants the suspension until when all issues of allegation of corruption and misappropriation of funds against the Executive Secretary, Mr Sanusi Abdullahi are investigated and satisfactorily resolved.
This is sequel to a motion under matters of urgent national importance by Rep. Abubakar Adamu (Niger-APC), “on the need to address the flagrant abuse of the authority and resolution of the House by the executive secretary of LCBC.”
Moving the motion, Adamu recalled that the House in Nov. 2017 passed a resolution mandating its Committee on the Commission to conduct a thorough investigation into the allegations.
The allegations include mismanagement, lawlessness and misappropriation of fund at the Commission.
He noted that the committee’s invitation to the Executive Secretary and other relevant officers of the Commission was shunned by them.
Adamu said that the Abdullahi had a penchant for flagrant disregard of the Parliament on the basis of a claim to immunity based on a memo purportedly issued from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Dec. 29, 2016.
That lawmaker argued that the Lake Chad was of strategic interest to Nigeria even as it stood as a major contributor to the funds of LCBC.
He added that the funds contributed to it constituted tax generated from the commonwealth of the citizens of Nigeria, hence the need for the appropriate utilisation of the funds pursuance to Section 88(1)(b) of the Constitution.
In adopting the motion, the House also resolved to interface with the Council of Ministers of the LCBC on the matter to allow the Committee performs its constitutional duties.
The House directed the chairman of the Committee to act in his capacity as the current president of the regional parliamentary committee of the LCB member-countries to engage with his counterparts from member-parliaments with a goal to conduct forensic audit of all financial transaction by the LCBC within four years.
The House also mandated the Ministry of Water Resources to issue a letter mandating Abdullahi to hand over to the newly appointed Executive Secretary since his tenure had expired.
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