Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), yesterday, failed to appear before the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts to respond to queries over alleged sale of some government properties across the country.
Others agencies that failed to appear before the committee at investigative hearing included the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF).
Consequently, the committee said it would petition President Muhammadu Buhari to compel the heads of the agencies to appear before it within seven days.
However, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Nigeria Electricity Liabilities Management Company (NELMCO), which were present at the investigative hearing, denied selling any government property.
TCN Managing Director, Sule Abdulazeez, told the Committee that his agency “was not involved in the sales of Federal Government’s landed property.” When the Power Holding Company was privatised, all assets and liabilities were handed over to the Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO and so we have no presentation to make,”he said.
Director General of NELMCO, Adebayo Fagbemi, said not all PHCN assets were transferred to his agency.
According to him, the gazette authorising the transfer of some PHCN property to NELMCO also transferred some of the assets to other agencies.
Fagbemi added that NELMCO recently got approval from the BPE to begin the sale of about 52 government property, which is currently ongoing.