The Senate Committee on Public Accounts on Tuesday vowed to use its constitutional powers to force the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Rtd. Gen. Muhammad Buba Marwa, and National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Munguno, to appear before it.
Tribune Online reports that the committee is considering queries against the NDLEA and the Office of the National Security Adviser.
NDLEA has a total of 11 queries totalling N467million while the Office of National Security Adviser is expected to address the issue of illegally diverted N3.5 billion meant for the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) to acquire vehicles for military officers.
Angry about the refusal of both Marawa and Munguno to appear before the Senate Public Accounts Committee, the Chairman, Senator Mathew Urhoghide, vowed that the National Assembly will use every constitutional means to make both NDLEA CEO and the NSA appear before the committee to make clarification on the issues raised in the auditor-general’s report.
According to him, we wrote to NDLEA in 2018 to come to appear before us, they did not respond but acknowledge the letter and another letter was written on February 1, 2021, they only sent a written response. They are supposed to appear physically, they acknowledged the letter and sent a response on March 21.
“We wrote a letter they didn’t do the physical appearance, we wrote another letter to them on June 9th and scheduled the agency to appear before us 30th of June, NDLEA refused to appear, they only acknowledged the letter.
” On 30th of August, we wrote another letter to the NDLEA for them to appear on September 29th and they also refused to appear physically.
“We don’t have a reference for any personality. Nobody is bigger than us. We advise them in their best interest to appear. We are warning them for the last time. We are going to use every constitutional means to force them to appear before us,” he said.
On the NSA, the chairman said, “the committee is investigating the Office of the National Security Adviser over the diversion of N3.5 billion meant for National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) to acquire vehicles for military officers.
“NSA should come and clarify, we do not have other issues directly with him, we implore him to send any person of competence or appear in person.”
The NDLEA had in response to the auditor-general’s of the federation query said it was not aware of any invitation from the Senate.
“I have checked through all the relevant channels within the agency and nobody is aware or has received any such invitation from the Senate committee. I’m however aware that the issues raised had been adequately addressed by the previous leadership of the agency long before the incumbent Chairman/Chief Executive came into office,” the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said.
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