BREAKING: House of Representatives summons Okonjo-Iweala

- The House of Representatives, through its committee on procurement, reminded Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala about the shortest way to Kuje Prison 

- Okonjo-Iweala and her successor, Kemi Adeosun, were invited with others to the House for alleged breach of the Procurement Act

The House of Representatives has summoned former minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as well as her successor, Kemi Adeosun. 

They are to appear over alleged abuse and breach of the Procurement Act, 2007 as the House committee overseeing the act said they must appear on Tuesday, June 6. 

Okonjo-Iweala served under former President Goodluck Jonathan

NAIJAFINIX.com learnt that apart from the two, a former Head of Service (HoS), Mr Steve Otunla, and a former Accountant-General to the Federation (AoGF), Mr Jonah Otunla, would be appearing too.

This is the first time Okonjo-Iweala would be summoned by the House since leaving office

Vanguard reports that the committee had recently summoned Adeosun and some others over alleged payment of N17 billion to five firms believed to be ghost companies as consultancy fees.

The committee, through its chairman, Oluwole Oke, says the summoning of those affected is to ensure proper investigation.

Oke also issued a strong warning: “The shortest way to Kuje prison is through breach of procurement laws.” 

He asked the invited stakeholders to bring with them presidential approvals, letters of awards, agreements signed with the contractors and performance records.

The report said members of the committee decried the discrepancies between the submissions made by ministry of Finance and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). 

According to the members, out of the 12 pre-shipment inspectors and two monitors who benefited from the N17 billion, seven were appointed in line with due process while five were appointed through the back door.

Oke recalled how a former governor of Bauchi state and a former member of the House of Representatives, who were part of those who promulgated the procurement law were sentenced to five years imprisonment for infractions. 

He further recalled how a former chairman of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) was also sentenced to two years imprisonment for breaching the Procurement Act before the Supreme Court intervened.

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