North East: Senate Panel Vows To Unravel Alleged Diversion of Funds
Adetokunbo Fakeye
The Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on the Humanitarian Crisis in the North East has vowed to unravel the massive corruption allegedly perpetrated by public officials saddled with the management of the North East humanitarian crisis.
Chairman of the ad-hoc committee, Senator Shehu Sani disclosed this in Maiduguri during a courtesy visit to Governor Kashim Shettima after the panel arrived Borno on Friday to meet with state and local leaders, conduct interviews with domestic and international stakeholders in the humanitarian community, and receive testimony from internally displaced persons (IDPs) in camps.
The Ad-Hoc Committee, was inaugurated by the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, in October, following reports of alleged mismanagement of scarce resources by those in charge of managing the North East crisis.
Speaking on the work of the Committee on Saturday, the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, commended the persistence of the Senators to complete their investigation, stating that their recommendations will be used to promote accountability and oversight in Nigeria’s efforts to rehabilitate the insurgency-ravaged North-East zone of the country.
“I have seen firsthand the work that needs to be done in the region,” Saraki said, “Now, with the institutional backing of the Senate, we can finally conclude on how best to manage the crisis as we partner with local and international actors.”
The Senate President stated that he was hopeful that the report of the Ad-Hoc Committee will be submitted before the year’s end, so that Nigeria can go into 2017 with an oversight strategy to monitor the government’s humanitarian intervention scheme.
Earlier this month, President Muhammadu Buhari flagged off the Presidential Committee on the North East Initiative (PCNI). PCNI is the organization now responsible for the overall coordination and management of the government’s response in the North East.
“Time is not on our side,” Saraki said, “Each day that we do not get it right in the North East, hundreds of people’s lives are put at risk— many of them children. This is why we are eager to get a strategic framework in place that ensures transparency, accountability and the effective management of the crisis.”