Secret transfer: Senate vows to withhold Ministry of Trade capital votes

The Senate Committee on Appropriation has vowed that it would make recommendations that the capital vote for the Ministry of Trade and Investment be withheld until the controversy surrounding the alleged transfer of N15 billion to a private company, Nigeria Special Economic Zone Company is resolved.

The Minister of Trade and Investment, Honourable Niyi Adebayo and Acting Managing Director of Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Terhembe Nongo, had earlier been summoned to appear before it to give explanations over the money allocated to the private firm in the ministry’s budget proposal.

The summoning by the Appropriation Committee led by Senator Barau Jibrin was as a result of the presentation of the report of the Senate Committee on Trade and Investment with  Senator Rose Oko as Chairman.

Senator Oko Committee in her report presented to her counterpart and Chairman of  Appropriation Committee, Senator Barau, disclosed that her Committee was not comfortable with the shareholding structure of the private company as offered by NEPZA acting managing director, Terhembe Nongo.

Senator Oko Committee further revealed that the acting managing director of NEPZA declared that the N15 Billion was allocated to them in 2017 and that as of that time, the company was not in existence.

But in his submission before the Appropriation Committee on Monday, Honourable Adebayo said the company in question was not a private company but set up by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and investment in cooperation with private investors who were invited by the Ministry.

He said the ministry was a major shareholder in the company while the controversial fund was intact and in custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

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He said: “The idea of setting up the company is to have industrial zones where special industrial activities could take place. That is the concept behind setting up the company but unfortunately, when it was being conceptualised, my predecessor felt that since he wanted the private sector to participate in it, the company should be set up outside the normal ministry’s processes.

“That was what brought about the confusion. It is not a private company. When the Committee of Industry, Trade and Investment raised the alarm on the setting up of the committee, and the amount appropriated to it,  the matter became a subject of an investigation by security agencies. The Economic and  Financial Crimes Commission is currently investigating it, the State Security Services is also investigating it.

“What we have done as a ministry now, is that since we believe in the project,  I have discussed the issue with the presidency and it has been concluded that once investigation has been concluded, we would look into the proper manner by which the company should be set up, correct the mistakes of the past. The government would maintain its proper share and the investors would own their proper share. The money that was appropriated before is intact, it is in the custody of the CBN, they are just waiting for all the legal issues to be ironed out.”

Responding to the presentation of the Minister of Trade and Investment, Chairman of the Appropriation Committee, Senator Barau said his Committee would put on hold the capital vote of the Ministry until the controversy trailing the private company and the secret transfer of fund were resolved.

He said: “Honourable Minister,  we are going to put everything on hold until the matter is resolved. For us, we won’t make provision for you this year. The Constitution has made provision for this kind of a case.  If at the end of the day,  it is resolved, we would welcome a supplementary appropriation and we would approve money for the Ministry.”

Speaking with newsmen after the Senate session, the Minister of Trade said the establishment of the company had a presidential approval and further said the appropriated fund was N14 billion, not N15 billion.

“The setting up of the company has a FEC approval,  it has the presidential endorsement. It is not a private company. It belongs to the Federal Republic of Nigeria but with the participation of private shareholders.

“The amount of money (N14bn)  that was appropriated to it is intact,  it is in the custody of the Federal Government of Nigeria,  nobody has touched it. The matter is being investigated by security agencies and once the investigation is concluded, we would sit down and make sure that proper processes are followed to make sure that the company is properly incorporated with the proper shareholders, with the proper representative of the shareholders and the board. After this,  we will now move forward with the programme we have for the company.

“We have put the entire process on hold until the outcome of the investigation. Once the investigation is concluded,  I will take action.”