By ITODO DANIEL

The House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the status of recovered loots between 2002 and 2020 has expressed anger over the refusal of some government officials to attend the hearing scheduled for Monday.

Those who refused to appear before the committee are; the Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris; Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; the Chairman of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other heads of agencies.

Chairman of the committee, Adejoro Adeogun, at the hearing, said the action of the ministers and heads of agencies was a “mark of disrespect for the National Assembly” and would not be tolerated.

The committee, therefore, ordered that the Accountant General of the Federation must appear before the committee in person at 10 am on Tuesday.

The committee also directed that the Attorney General of the Federation must also appear before the committee in person.

Daily Trust reports that the committee had invited the Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning.

Also invited were the National Security Adviser, Babagana Mongunu; Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele; Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris and Auditor General of the Federation, Aghughu Arhotomhenla.

The National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA); Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC); Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority; the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC); the Nigeria Police Force; Nigeria Customs Service and Nigerian Navy were also invited by the committee.

Mr Adeogun explained that the essence of the hearing was to ensure effective and efficient management and utilisation of the recovered assets.

The House had recently constituted the panel to investigate the use of recovered loot and assets from former government officials. (Daily Trust)

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