House of Representatives Committee on Public Procurement on Thursday, asked Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, to appear before it next Tuesday over alleged payment of N17 billion for procurement of office equipment.
Auditor-General of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris, and former Accountant-General of the Federation, Jonah Otunla, were also summoned.
The invitation followed failure of the trio to appear at the public hearing on the allegation.
The minister had sent the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Isa Dutse, to represent her.
But the lawmakers sent him back and stated that they would not accept any excuse for Adeosun’s absence.
Chairman of the committee, Oluwole Oke, said that the officials had violated the provisions of section 15 of the Public Procurement Act 2007 as it pertained to the role of procurement entities.
He told the permanent secretary to inform the minister to provide documents, including president’s approval for the contract, agreement signed by the contractors and record of payment of the contract by the ministry.
Oke wondered how N17 billion was paid for the contract, insisting that public procurement must be regulated.
