Other agencies are the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Federal Capital Territory Administration, Niger Delta Development Commission, Nigerian Investment Promotion Council and National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure.

Also defaulting are, Nigeria Football Federation, Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, National Space Research and Development Agency, Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency and Industrial Training Fund.

The senate also urged the defaulting agencies to submit their lingering responses on issues raised about the belated statement of accounts as contained in their earlier exchanged correspondences.

Those invited also include, Presidential Amnesty Program, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Petroleum Equalization Fund Management Board, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, Nigeria Railway Corporation and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency.

The Senate also invited the Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Nigeria Insurance Trust Fund and National Primary Healthcare Development Agency.

This development followed the Public Account Committee (PAC) of the Senate’s press briefing in National Assembly wherein it disclosed that some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government, have not disclosed their accounts for years, as stipulated by law.

Senator Matthew Urhoghide, Chairman of the committee, told Journalist that the PAC had issued correspondences to the affected agencies to submit a statement of accounts, to enable the committee carry out “special oversight functions”.

The committee said it has the backing of sections 85, 88 and 89 of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria and Order 97(5) of the Senate Standing Orders 2015 as amended.

Despite several notices for agencies to submit their statement of accounts, the committee said many of the MDAs have refused to comply.

“In the light of this, all the defaulting agencies are by this notice, given the last opportunity to make submissions before their invitation to the scheduled public hearing”, Senator Urhoghide said.

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Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, who provided the insights on Tuesday in Abuja, spoke when a delegation of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) led by Hajiya Ladi Katagum, Acting Executive Secretary, paid him a courtesy visit.

He reiterated the fact that government role in power development was currently largely regulatory, adding that in terms of power the ministry was in daily receipt of all sorts of tested and untested power ideas.

He advised power contractors to be focused on doing business through the proper channel, adding that the federal government only regulates the standard of safety of meters and the installation process to ensure safety.

He further warned that people who were interested in building transmission lines should undertake contract with government companies like the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

Fashola said that the ministry would always intervene to solve related problems.

“People who want to supply meters should contact the DISCOS; government is not buying meters anymore but government is driving policies to ensure that consumers get meters.

“As for those who want to generate electricity, we have a policy to produce electricity by as many means as it is possible; namely by gas, cool, water and solar and in some places where wind energy is viable.

“For you to produce power you must first have a license issued by Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), so power contractors should go to NERC not the ministry.

“If they got a license they need a document called ‘power purchase agreement’ which is for now being signed off by Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET), a government company; the ministry oversees what they do. The government protects consumers, you can’t just throw any tariff at them,” he added.

Fashola said that power purchase agreement could enable one to do power project and if the tariff is high the ministry would not approve it because of its obligation to consumers to give power on a competitive and fair price basis.

“Businessmen and investors must also be thorough; they must comply with requirements, follow our processes and respect our laws. Your plan must synchronise with TCN,” said the minister.

On what the investment promotion outlook could benefit from, he listed inspection of contracts as the first, adding that there must not be basis for any capricious cancelation of obligations.

“Undoubtedly, infrastructure support will be helpful to investment which is what the government is focussed on trying to bridge the infrastructure deficit to improve competitiveness of our business environment.

“A clear fiscal policy that enables capital injection and capital repatriation will be helpful and all of these are being dealt with the government simultaneously.”

He assured investors that government was showing its capacity to protect and secure them with their assets.

“We are mindful of the interest that has been shown in the sectors for which the ministry has responsibility, especially power and also real estate and housing development.

“But we also see that some of the decisions of the past were driven by businessmen rather than the policy of government and we think that it is the policy of government that should enable that business to take a position.”

For example, he said, in housing, the ministry desired to put in place a sustainable plan that evolve designing houses that people could own not only in terms of its monetary value but because it appeals to them.

“Some of the developers send us all sorts of proposals but the ministry want to evolve its own designs; we are finalising on the cost, design and the quantity of materials that needed to be built.

“We adapted our designs to fit the climatic and weather conditions in different parts of the country and also to respond to some of their cultural needs while trying to manage the cost components of those.

“This is what we will present ultimately when we concluded it and it will help to inform the investors not for them to impose what they want and their own building materials largely imported on us.”

However, Fashola called for a local conference where the contractors would be gathered and enlightened on the processes of power investment.
He said that the government would, however, continue to regulate and drive policies that would ensure investment and consumers protection and safety.

Earlier, Katagum had said that the commission came to get all the information required and to seek collaboration with the power sector.

She said this was necessary to simplify the duties for NIPC “when it goes on investment mission, the sector and other sectors can go along to disseminate information to boost project implementation.

“We have companies that may be signing contracts or MoU on different power issues in the sector, maybe renewable energy, sometimes before the project takes off it takes a while.

“We also want to know how the process of contract can be shortened through contacting relevant development agencies to fast track project implementation.”

She stated that the commission was responsible for promoting investment and creating enabling environment for investment in the country, noting that good partnership with the ministry would enhance NIPC’s mandate.

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Our correspondent gathered that the president opted to give some of the chief executives the push, following reports of large-scale fraud in their agencies.

The agencies under the searchlight of either the EFCC or the ICPC include National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), National Broadcasting Commission(NBC), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Bureau of Public Enterprises(BPE), National Women Development Centre(NWDC); Industrial Training Fund(ITF); Nigerian Investment Promotion Council; Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) and Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSIT), among others.

One of the sacked DG, Dr. Paul Orhi of NAFDAC, allegedly spent N200 billion on last year’s Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) presidential campaign.

“At least 10 of those sacked chief executives will be handed over to the EFCC and the ICPC. The report on their misconduct is ready for these anti-graft agencies to act upon.

“All security agencies received the list of those affected about 24 hours before the formal announcement. They will all be placed on surveillance until cleared.

“Some of them have actually appeared before EFCC and ICPC in the last eight months. Their cases are under various stages of investigation.

“The revelations are mind-boggling and it is sad that some of these chief executives continued with the impunity even after a new government had taken over,” said a source who pleaded anonymity.

The source added that the President bided time to get intelligence report on the atrocities, recklessness and outright graft by some of these former CEOs before sending them packing.

The source cited the case of how a DG was implicated in a N68 billion fraud and other illegal expenditures and loans allegedly secured without proper approval.

The source also claimed that a former female chief executive was alleged to have donated N700 million to the PDP’s presidential campaign in January 2015; furnishing of an office at N800 million which donor agencies can supply at no cost and the construction of a store at N240 million instead of N40 million.

In another instance, one of the heads of the media agencies could not account for all the advertisement cash raked in by his medium during the 2015 campaign but only recorded N5 million as revenue from adverts during the 2015 polls.

The DG was said to have acquired a licence for an electronic medium and diverted the sophisticated equipment to the new private outfit after using public funds to procure them.

Another DG of a sensitive agency was alleged to have hidden over N15 billion in a secret account in violation of the extant regulations of Treasury Single Account(TSA).

One of the affected DGs presided over an agency which was generating about N9 billion internally but as at the time he was sacked, he left more than N6 billion debts for the agency.

Despite the remand of her Personal Assistant in prison over alleged N17 million bribery, a DG waited till Monday for President Muhammadu Buhari to wield the big stick.

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Amos Sakaba, a Director in Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), disclosed this in Lagos at a media chat organised by Olisa Agbakoba Legal Services.

He said that the statistics on FDI inflow showed that Nigeria still ranked as one of the leading FDI destinations in the world.

Sakaba was speaking against the backdrop of the 2015 World Bank Doing Business Report which ranked Nigeria 170th out of 186 countries surveyed on enabling business environment.

He said that the report could not have been a true reflection of the Nigerian situation, stressing that Nigeria was daily been inundated with enquiries by prospective foreign investors.

Sakaba said that a group of French investors had just visited the country to explore investment opportunities, while there were still others currently in Abuja.

He said that the NIPC had designed many initiatives to lure foreign investors into the country, one of which was the granting of Pioneer Status to some start-up companies.

The NIPC director said that his organisation had granted pioneer status to about 450 companies since NIPC was established 16 years ago.

He described pioneer status as legal concession by government to support the growth of start-up businesses, particularly in the heat of challenges.

Sakaba said that the NIPC had also established a One-Stop-Investment Centre to address challenges of individual prospective investors.

He said that the centre provided a platform for 26 government regulatory agencies to address challenges of individual prospective foreign investor.

The director also said that the NIPC was also assisting states in building capacity to support foreign investors in their states.

Sakaba said that the NIPC laws were enabling enough because they provided for reforms.

He said that there was the need to build a national consensus on the way forward to promote inflow of foreign direct investments into the country in view of the myriad institutional challenges.

Dr. Will Mamah of the OAL said that Nigeria had been hit by a “tsunami’’ of big shocks arising from the decline in crude oil price globally.

He said that the fact that the world had shifted from small hydrocarbon oil to clean shale oil had made Nigeria’s hydrocarbon-based resource unfashionable.

“Nigeria’s potential as an investment hub is very high, but remains largely untapped.

:Two questions are critical: why has Nigeria’s investment promise been unable to deliver the expected results?”

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Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, who announced Saratu Umar’s sack, said the President approved the appointment of Uju Aisha Hassan-Baba as her replacement.

The new Executive Secretary/Chief Executive had served previously as Director-General, Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice in Anambra State and Director, Legal Services, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

Although no reason was given for the decision to relieve Umar of her appointment, those familiar with goings-on in the agency said that Umar’s sack may have been engineered by the several demands for her sack by the agency’s staff.

The NIPC Staff Union had accused her of fraud, incompetence and high-handedness, leading to the setting up of a panel set up by the Federal Government to investigate the allegations.

The NIPC Staff Union had last week said in a statement issued in Abuja and signed by its Chairman, Ahmad Isah Ghondi that “Our findings have indicated that the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Ms. Saratu Umar, has violated so many provisions of the Act in awarding contract to her cronies and has been running the Commission as a private entity.

“The Executive Secretary since her assumption of office a year ago has never advertised for bids as a pre-requisite for all contracts which is in violation of section 19(a) and section 16(1) of the Public Procurement Act.

“She has currently hand-picked and engaged the services of five Consultants which was not advertised for public bidding. In contravention of section 21 of the Public Procurement Act, she has refused to constitute a Procurement Planning Committee.

“The NIPC boss has failed in her one year administration of the Commission to obtain ‘No objection’ certificates which are normally issued prior to award of contracts and payments. This is in contravention of section 16 (1) and (4) of the Public Procurement Act.

“In her determined efforts to thrive in illegality, Ms. Saratu Umar, has put together an illegal Tenders Board which comprised of only two directors and other subordinate staff and completely sidelined other Directors who are still staff of the Commission. This illegal Tenders Board recently approved a Contract of N35 million for refurnishing of her office.

“The engagement of Consultancies and Contracts that is valued at millions of naira are done without any legal documentation, contract or agreements. It is worthy of note that under section 20(2) of the Public Procurement Act, the Chief Executive Officer is to be held liable in person for the breach and contravention of this Act, whether or not such breach was carried out by her or her subordinates.”

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