House of Representatives has said funds seized, forfeited and abandoned in financial institution and government agencies, when identified and recovered would be rechannelled into education, healthcare, infrastructure and job creation.
Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, stated this, yesterday, while inaugurating the House Ad-hoc Committee on the identification and recovery of funds seized, forfeited, and abandoned in financial institutions and government agencies.
He explained that the aim of the parliament was to come up with comprehensive strategy to identify, recover idle funds and channel them into productive ventures. He said dormant funds could be used to reinvigorate the economy and create opportunities for growth and development of the country.
“Our economic landscape is multi-dimensional, replete with challenges ranging from dwindling revenues and infrastructure gaps to unemployment and inflation. As we embark on our mandate, let us bear in mind that our decisions will echo across the lives of fellow citizens, especially those most affected by these adversities. Our unwavering dedication to transparency, accountability, and diligence is non-negotiable as we navigate through, intricate financial systems, legal intricacies, and bureaucratic entanglements.
“The resources we unearth will be reinvested into critical sectors such as education, healthcare, infrastructure, and job creation. The ripple effects of our endeavors will resonate through generations.”
Meanwhile, the House Ad-hoc Committee probing the employment racketeering and mismanagement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, (IPPIS) by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) grilled officials of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) over alleged lopsided recruitment in the agency.
Chairman of the panel, Yusuf Gagdi, while speaking, at the resumed hearing of the committee, queried JAMB for employing 300 persons without advertising the vacancies in the agency.
Gadgi stated that by failing the advertise the vacancy, JAMB denied ordinary Nigerians the opportunity to be employed in the examination body.
“What makes you think advertising thing wouldn’t have been better? You have the capacity to screen the people that apply to get better hands to do those jobs. I’m asking this because we are most interested in correcting the fraud associated with waivers.”
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, while addressing the Ad-hoc committee, stated that his agency adhered to the Federal Character principles in the recruitments it did between 2015 to date.
Oloyede, who was responding to lawmakers’ query, on why his agency did recruitment of new staff without advertising the vacancies, explained that JAMB got waiver for recruitment because of exigencies.