The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has expressed shock over the findings and “ultimate conclusion” of the House of Representatives Committee on Emergency and Preparedness Response.
The House Reps had passed a vote of no confidence on Mr. Mustapha Maihaja during Thursday’s plenary over allegations of corruption and misappropriation of funds.
Chairman of the committee, Rep. Ali Isa, explained that based on the investigation conducted, it had been established that the Federal Government lost over N33 billion as a result of mismanagement by Maihaja.
“This is as a result of mismanagement or outright embezzlement of funds occasioned by actions or inactions of the Managing Director of NEMA, Mr Mustapha Maihaja,’’ Isa said.
The emergency agency, however, said the Ali Isa-led committee’s report didn’t correlate with the actual documents.
NEMA spokesperson, Sani Datti, cleared the air in a statement on Thursday night.
Below is the full statement:
“The House of Representatives received the Report of the House Committee on Emergency and Preparedness Response on the alleged violation of public trust against the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
“We were shocked to hear about some of the findings and conclusions presented by the Committee on the issues, which did not reflect the facts and documents placed before it by NEMA. While we shall in due course be making a more comprehensive response to all the recommendations of the Committee , it is most important to clarify the following:
“On the Port Clearance and Transportation of Emergency Food Assistance by Chinese Government, the Federal Government received a total of 6,779MT of Rice for IDPs in the North East as donation by the Chinese Government. This amounted to 271 containers, which arrived Apapa Ports between June and October 2017.
The processes of securing duty exemption, waivers and other related issues took several months, but the total quantity was subsequently cleared from the Apapa Port, transported and delivered to NEMA warehouses in the North East. It was thereafter distributed to the IDPs in the States of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe. Documents on the transaction, including distribution to the IDPs were made available to the Committee.
The correct total value of the rice is about N2.25 Billion (50 Million Chinese Yuan) and the amount spent on clearing, demurrage and storage was about N450 Million, not the N800 Million as alleged by the Committee.
“On EFCC Investigation of the suspended staff of NEMA, the suspension of the Six (6) NEMA officers was a decision of Its Governing Council based on the Interim Report of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which indicted them for financial misappropriation. The suspension was in line with Public Service Rules and the extant Guidelines on Appointment, Promotion and Discipline.
“On the approval of N1.6 billion granted by the Federal Government for the Procurement and Delivery of Relief Items to 16 States affected by Flood in 2017, due process was observed in the procurement of the relief items and all items meant for the 16 states were received and acknowledged by respective State Governments. Documents evidencing the acknowledgement of the items were made available to the House Committee.
“On the Federal Government Emergency Food Intervention in the North East (EFINE), EFINE was a project implemented by a Presidential Committee comprising of relevant Ministries and Agencies of Government in response to the threat of hunger and starvation in the North Ease as reported by the agencies of Government on the ground, which was corroborated by the United Nations in April 2017.
“All approvals were secured in accordance with due process, while the Committee and the UN World Food Programme worked collaboratively in the sourcing and distribution of the food items. The originating memorandum on the project was submitted by NEMA on 2 June 2017 for Presidential approval. All suppliers in EFINE were selected following due process. Copies of all relevant documents in respect of the project were made available to the House Committee.
