*Says NSTIF alone has over 50 queries to respond to
The Senate Tuesday threatened to issue arrest warrants to officials of Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) and 54 other government agencies for refusing to honour its several invitations.
Disclosing this on Tuesday in Abuja during the meeting of his Committee, Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Matthew Urhoghide, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Edo South said members of the Committee are angry and disappointed that the arrest warrant has become imperative because these agencies of government have vehemently refused to attend their meetings to answer to queries on how they spent money that was appropriated by the Senate.
Urhoghide has mandated the Committee Secretariat to write the agencies involved to appear latest by next week Tuesday and failure to do that would lead to the Senate invoking section of Constitution against the agencies.
The Chairman, who raised the issue of NSTIF, said the agency has over 50 queries to respond adding it is obvious that the agency is running away from Investigation. He said: “We have just directed the Secretariat of the Committee to write to the erring ministries agencies and department of government for the last time, asking them to appear before us as from next week.
“We are going to invoke Section 89 of the Constitution, which is bench warrant of arrest to be issued on them to compel them to appear.
“Why will the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund come to tell us that they have a new management? For how long do they want the management to be in place before they can appear?
“They know that government is a continuum. NSTIF has over 50 queries. It is obvious that they are running away, they don’t want to come and give account.
“Today, the Petroleum Product Pricing and Regulatory Agency, and the Rural Electrification Agency and NSITF are all supposed to be here, bringing the total number of errant agencies to 56.
“We are giving them till next week Tuesday to appear or we issue warrant of arrest on them to appear. They came for appropriation and they don’t want to account for the money they collect.”
