The House of Representatives on Thursday
passed a resolution to probe an alleged spending of N10bn by the
Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to charter
and maintain a jet for her personal use.
The resolution indicated that the minister spent 500,000 Euros or N130m monthly to maintain the aircraft in the last two years.
“Thus, in the last two years, the
minister has committed at least N3.120bn to maintaining the private jet,
which is used solely for her personal needs and those of her immediate
family, which is an appalling act”, the sponsor of the motion, Mr.
Samuel Adejare, told the House.
He alleged that other “wasteful” costs
associated with the minister’s frequent trips with the jet were
“currently estimated at N10bn, which include payment of allowances to
the crew for trips, hanger parking and rent based on the lease
agreement.”
The All Progressives Congress lawmaker
from Agege Federal Constituency in Lagos State, argued that, at a time
of dwindling resources, it was a “breach of public trust” and
“impudence” for a government official to fly “all over the world,
obviously for leisure.”
Members endorsed the motion in a
unanimous voice vote and directed the Committee on Public Accounts to
conduct the investigation within three weeks.
In another resolution, the House
observed that the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas had not remitted revenue
to the Federation Account since 2004.
It resolved that its Committee on Gas Resources should investigate the issue within three weeks as well.
A member from Kano State, Mr. Aminu Suleiman, had brought the matter before the House.
Part of Suleiman’s motion reads, “The
House notes that the NLNG Bonny, in flagrant disobedience and breach of
Section 162(1) of the 1999 Constitution has not remitted funds accruing
to it to the Federation Account from 2004 till date.
“That the non- remittance of funds
accruing to NLNG Bonny from 2004 till date has adversely affected the
Federation Account to the detriment of Federal, States and Local
Governments.
“That the unpatriotic actions of those
in charge of the NLNG Bonny from 2004 till date has resulted in loss of
huge revenue that ought to be shared to all tiers of the government form
the Federation Account for both recurrent and capital development.
“That, the non-remittance of funds that
accrued to NLNG Bonny to the Federation Account from 2004till date has
badly affected all critical sectors of the Nigerian economy and
constitutes an economic crime
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