• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Reps clear SDG Boss of alleged N26.9bn COVID-19 expenditure

Reps clear SDG Boss of alleged N26.9bn COVID-19 expenditure

The House of Representatives Committee on Sustainable Development Goals Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has debunked reports that the management of the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs under Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire was queried over the alleged award of N26.9 billion COVID-19 related procurements during a recent budget defence session at the National Assembly.

The lawmakers said no such money was appropriated by the National Assembly for the procurement of materials following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Committee chaired by Rotimi Agunsoye said it is important to correct the narrative in the public to avoid misrepresentation of projects carried out by the agency in the past years.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja, a member of the Committee, Humpe Babatunde said there was no basis for querying the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs or Orelope-Adefulire over any irregularities in contract award or procurement of palliatives during the budget defence session as the presentation made by her contained a detailed analysis of the projects implemented in the previous years, which is unusual of public officers.

“I think there is a mischief in the report. Facts before us do not show that the SDGs Office participated in the procurement of palliatives neither were they queried for anything. As a matter of fact, members of the Committee believes that Princess Orelope-Adefulire led OSSAP-SDGs has performed creditably well, brilliantly and was well commended by the members of the committee,” Humpe stated.

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On the question raised on non-implementation of special intervention projects, the lawmaker said the information before the Committee revealed that the SSAP-SDGs cannot be blamed as funds for the implementation were yet to be released to her office by the Ministry of Finance.

“You don’t expect the SSA to execute projects when funds are not released. The Committee could not have queried her when we knew that the finance needed for the execution of the projects is not available to her. In any way, most of the Ministries, Agencies and Departments of government are also having problems executing the capital component of the budgets because of the shortfall in government’s revenue,” Humpe explained.

Another lawmaker, Uju Kingsley said it is not possible for the agency to have spent 26 billion without appropriation by the National Assembly, adding that the parliament must set the record straight so as not to put the agency in the eye of the public.

Vice-Chairman of the Committee, Zainab Gimba faulted the fake report insisting that the House has not found Orelope-Adefulire wanting in the discharge of her assignments and advised against peddling of fake news against her or her office as was done twice earlier in the year.

She opined that someone somewhere is probably disturbed by her outstanding performance and decided to malign her integrity by all means.

A member of the Committee, Mariam Onuoha had during the budget defence session noted that Orelope-Adefulire deserves commendation over the manner she has been handling affairs of SDGs but asked for the location of more intervention projects in her constituency for the benefits of her people.

It could be recalled that lawmakers had at the end of the presentation by the SSA commended her and her Office for their outstanding performance, as well as the accuracy, accountability, transparency, and detailed presentation of relevant documents submitted to the Committee.

The members also lauded the Office for standing out as one of the MDAs with 100 percent completion of projects and without any debts from 2016 till date.

They, however, warned against dragging the National Assembly into settling personal scores and maligning of integrity and characters of others.