Reps to issue arrest warrant on NEMA DG

The House of Representatives will issue a warrant of arrest on the director general of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Maihaja, for evading investigative hearing.

The House Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness has been investigating the alleged mismanagement of funds by the NEMA boss, Maihaja.

He has, however, failed to appear before the committee to defend himself three times in a row.

The committee, headed by Hon Ali Isa, has also directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the Ministry of Finance and other relevant parties to furnish it with all transaction details of N5. 6 billion funds released to four companies in relation to the Emergency Food Programme in the northeast.

The committee made this demand after another investigative session on the alleged breach of trust by National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) at the National Assembly.

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According to the committee, the documents are to guide the panel “to uncover the mystery” surrounding the release of funds and to establish whether it was given to the companies as a loan or under whatever condition.

The decision to ask for the documents arose when beneficiaries of the contract to mop up grains, which were said to have been distributed in the northeast, and the accountant general of the federation said they were selected for the job without asking for a loan to finance it from the CBN, while the Central Bank, on the other hand, insisted that the N5.6 billion was a loan.

Hon Ali said the agency "has a penchant for sending notice of its DG’s absence from the meeting either thirty minutes before the hearing commences or when the hearing has already commenced."

He added that the panel will give him one more chance to appear on May 31, 2018, or face sanctions.