North-East: Senate panel vows to unravel alleged diversion of funds

The Senate Ad hoc Committee on the Humanitarian Crisis in the North-East has vowed to unravel the massive corruption allegedly perpetrated by public officials saddled with the management of the North-East humanitarian crisis.

The Senate president media office disclosed that the chairman of the adhoc committee, Senator Shehu Sani, made this known  in Maiduguri  during a courtesy visit to Governor Kashim Shettima. The panel arrived in Borno on Friday to meet with state and local leaders, conduct interviews with domestic and international stakeholders in the humanitarian community, and receive testimony from internally displaced persons (IDPs) in camps.

The ad hoc committee, was inaugurated by the Senate president, Dr Bukola Saraki, in October, following reports of alleged mismanagement of scarce resources by those in charge of managing the North-East crisis.

Speaking on the work of the committee on Saturday, Saraki, commended the persistence of the senators and urged them to complete their investigation.

The recommendations will be used to promote accountability and oversight in Nigeria’s efforts to rehabilitate the insurgency-ravaged North-East zone of the country,” he added.

He added that, “I have seen the work that needs to be done in the region. With the institutional backing of the Senate, we can finally conclude on how best to manage the crisis as we partner with local and international actors.”

The Senate president stated that he was hopeful that the report of the committee will be submitted before the end of the year, so that Nigeria can go into 2017 with an oversight strategy to monitor the government’s humanitarian intervention scheme.

President Muhammadu Buhari earlier in the month kicked off the Presidential  Committee on the North- East Initiative (PCNI),  an organisation that is responsible for the overall coordination and management of the government’s response in the North-East.