Lawmakers of the House of Representatives have urged the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) to account for about N10 billion allegedly used to register two companies for the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST).
Bamidele Salam, the Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts made the call in Abuja at the resumed investigative hearing of the committee.
“No reasonable Nigerian will believe that N10.4 billion was spent to register the two companies.
”These companies eventually folded up one year after takeoff,” Mr Salam said.
He also said the companies, NIPOST Transport and Logistics Ltd., and NIPOST Property reportedly took off in May 2023 and folded up through a Presidential directive in May 2024.
The BPE Head of Finance and Accounts who stood in for the Director-General of the Agency, Imam Rilwan, told the committee that of the said amount, N10 million was given to the two companies for their take-off.
He said that about N400 million was given to the BPE to prepare the ground for the takeoff of the companies.
According to him, the issue of registering the two companies for NIPOST was approved in 2017.
This, he said, paved the way for BPE to expend about N423 million in registering and carrying out other activities for the eventual takeoff of the companies.
He added that when the money was eventually released in 2023 the bureau had to recover its money, adding that the N423 million given to the BPE was used to rent office accommodation among other essential services.
He said while the bureau paid rent for the two companies from 2022, the companies took possession of the offices in May 2023, while they folded up in May 2024.
He said all property belonging to the two companies had been officially handed over to NIPOST management.
Responding, Salam said spending money from the government coffers before the money was released was a violation of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act.
Salam, however, directed the Director-General of BPE, Ayodeji Gbeleyi, to personally appear before the committee on September 11, 2024, at noon with all relevant documents relating to the transaction.
