05 October 2016, Abuja — A House of Representatives panel has uncovered massive fraud in the payment of billions of naira to government officials annually by insurance companies as insurance covers.
Speaking at the inauguration of the ad-hoc committee yesterday in Abuja, the chairman of the committee, Rep Adekunle Akinlade (APC, Ogun), said the panel has in its possession documents that showed how payments were made to non-licensed and non-existent brokerage firms by MDAs.
He said the committee also uncovered unpaid claims running into billions of naira, paper trails of monies paid to individuals and third party companies as well as over-valued premium payments for the years under review.
He said some individuals were bent on frustrating the outcome of the investigation, saying the committee would invoke its powers to avert any attempts the House on the matter.
He said out of the over 100 MDAs and insurance firms the committee demanded information from, only a few responded. He, therefore, gave those yet to respond up to Monday, October 10, to do so.
Inaugurating the committee, Speaker Yakubu Dogara said the House was committed to ensuring probity in the spending of public funds, hence the investigation.
Represented by deputy House leader, Buba Jibril, Dogara urged the committee to focus on the issue at hand and assured Nigerians that the House would pursue all necessary measures to ensure accountability on the handling of public funds.
* Musa Abdullahi Krishi – Daily Trust
