The House of Representatives has continued its investigative hearing into the alleged diversion of ₦500 million public funds by the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), as flagged by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation.
At the resumed session held in Abuja, Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, Bamidele Salam, presided over proceedings and emphasised the need for both the Ministry and NEXIM to present relevant documentation related to the fund within the next two weeks.
In response to the audit query, NEXIM Managing Director, Abba Bello, explained that the bank was nominated by the Federal Government in April 1998 as the national guarantor of the facility. This was reportedly done through the issuance of customs bonds to support the transit of goods and services from Nigeria through Nigerian Customs territory to other ECOWAS member states, in line with the ECOWAS Inter-State Road Transit Convention.
Bello disclosed that ₦507 million is currently held in NEXIM’s account as income accrued from investment in treasury bills. He added that ₦170 million had been expended on travel-related costs for attending a series of stakeholder meetings linked to the facility.
The Committee is expected to reconvene in two weeks to review the submitted documents and continue its investigation into the financial conduct of the entities involved.