The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House of Representatives is currently scrutinizing Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government over the alleged mismanagement of COVID-19 intervention funds from 2020-2022. The committee, chaired by Rep Bamidele Salam, has raised concerns over the Federal Ministry of Water Resources for reportedly sinking boreholes at costs ranging from N25 million to N12.5 million per unit, deeming it unacceptable.
The committee also questioned the reported expenditure of N4 billion by the Ministry on the recruitment of 100 personnel for a three-month project called Youth Engagement for Sanitation (YES) across the 774 local government areas in the country.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, defended the borehole projects, stating that 299 new water schemes were undertaken during the period, with 188 rehabilitations of old and abandoned solar boreholes. Each state reportedly received a N10 million intervention.
Expressing dissatisfaction, committee members requested verification of the projects to ensure authenticity and avoid confusion with projects previously executed by members. They sought details on the recruitment process, including the full list of youths, their account numbers, payment schedules sent to banks, and all related project documents.
Chairman Rep Bamidele Salam emphasized the committee’s intention to conduct on-site project verification for value for money. The committee announced plans to physically verify projects in various states, including Osun, Ogun, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Imo, Ebonyi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Benue, Katsina, Sokoto, Bauchi, and Adamawa.
Additionally, the committee directed the Permanent Secretary to submit all relevant documents related to contracts, procurements, and certificates required for execution on the next appearance.
In other developments, the committee refused to accept the submission of representatives from the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development on the N2 billion intervention funds allocated to it. The committee insisted on the appearance of the accounting officer. Furthermore, the committee directed the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi Abuja, to reappear due to observed infractions in the dates of contract awards.
