Fraud : Reps Orders AGF To Appear Before Committee

By Bada Abraham

The ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives, which is currently investigating the non-remittance to the National Housing Fund (NHF) and the utilization of funds, has demanded the presence of Mrs. Oluwatoyin Madein, the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), at its next session.

If she fails to appear on September 7th, the committee has warned that she may face arrest.

According to the Daily Post, during its resumed sitting in Abuja on Thursday, the committee had initially called upon the Director of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS), a department under the Office of the AGF, to explain the non-remittance to the NHF.

However, the committee was dissatisfied with the response given by the IPPIS director and insisted that she attend the next session.

Although the IPPIS director had brought a letter to elucidate the reasons for the AGF’s absence, the committee remained unconvinced and decided to re-invite her.

The committee cited the director’s inability to adequately answer the questions posed before him as the primary motive behind their decision, emphasizing that he must come back with the AGF on September 7th and be prepared to provide further explanations.

Representative Dachung Bagos, the chairman of the committee, affirmed that they could not rely on the same individual who had failed to provide the necessary information from the Office of the AGF.

He also emphasized that they aimed to provide a fair hearing to the AGF, as they did not wish to be seen as engaging in a witch hunt. As a result, they decided to give her another opportunity to appear before the committee.

Furthermore, the committee instructed Remital, the private organization responsible for remitting the funds, to also attend the session scheduled for September 7th.

This decision was made because the IPPIS was unprepared to answer the committee’s inquiries. Nonetheless, the committee commended Remital for promptly appearing before them with the required documents and placed blame on the IPPIS for failing to be adequately prepared.