Mustapha
Maihaja, Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has
denied misappropriating N33 billion as alleged by the House of Representatives
Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness.
Maihaja
denied the allegation while briefing newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja, where he
shed more light on activities and interventions of the agency.
He described
the public response as an obligation to adequately inform Nigerians on what
truly happened in NEMA.
He said the
House of Representatives’ committee got the whole figures mixed up, leading it
to make the accusation.
The DG
denied receiving N5.8 billion for the Emergency Intervention of Food Security
in the North East (EFINE) as contained in the committee’s report.
He explained
that NEMA only got about N800 million while other funds were paid directly to
contractors.
“The
Emergency Intervention of Food security in the North East (EFINE) came into
beings due to a number of factors and the project demand was a clear case of an
emergency.
“In the
course of the programme, grains were moved from various warehouses in Ibadan,
Funtua, Kano, Gombe and Kaduna to the North East to cater for the dire food
needs of victims of insurgency.
“The
movement of the grains was well-coordinated with adequate security and there
was no reported case of a single bag of grain that got missing in the movement.
“As part of
the process of monitoring the project, a visit was undertaken by the Minister
of State, Budget and National Planning on August 7 and 8, 2017 to Bauchi, Yola
and Maiduguri.
“During
those visits, no issues were raised by the states and throughout the entire
process we did not receive any feedback, positive or negative on the process.
“Taken into
cognizance the open door policy we had taken and the long tenure of the
project, there were many avenues for these issues to be raised to NEMA or the
acting president,’’ Maihaja said.
Maihaja also
explained that the People’s Republic of China donated 6,779 metric tonnes of
rice to Nigeria as part of its support to the North East humanitarian efforts.
He said the
quantity of the rice was 135,550 units of 50kg bags.
He said that
in total, 271 containers arrived Apapa Port from China in five shipments
between June and October 2017.
He explained
that the agency expended N518 million on shipping and storage charges for the 271
containers donated by China.
He said that
the original shipping documents and Custom Exemption Certificates were handed
over to NEMA by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning in December 2017
and January 2018.
He said that
thereafter, NEMA commenced the immediate clearing and subsequent haulage of the
donated rice to Maiduguri, Damaturu, Yola, Jalingo, Gombe and Bauchi.
“To further
justify that the items were received on behalf of the Federal Government, they
were delivered into NEMA warehouses in Gombe, Borno, Yobe and Adamawa and
warehouses provided by the state governments in Bauchi, Taraba and Yobe.
“ The
Chinese rice was used for monthly feeding of the IDPs specifically in Adamawa,
Borno and Yobe states with balance in stock at Gombe, Bauchi and Taraba,” he
added
He explained
that in the case of the flood intervention in the 12 states which was mentioned
in the legislative report, N1.6 billion was released after the flood had
occurred at different times.
He explained
that NEMA immediately conducted assessments and established the needs before
moving in with relief materials.
“The agency
delivered the items to the 12 states between September and November 2017 and
subsequently the remaining four states.
“Evidence of
receipt of the items by the respective state governments is available.
He said that
following the international outcry of cases of slavery in Libya towards the end
of 2017, the Federal Government commenced the massive evacuation of Nigerians
from Libya.
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