House of Representatives has set up an-hoc committee to investigate allegations that the Ministry of Finance under former Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, withdrew over N1.17 billion from the Account of Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority, without approval.

The motion for enquiry into the allegation was sponsored by Hon Musa Sarkin Adar (APC, Sokoto), and passed after a very short debate.

In the motion, Adar told the House that “on March 11, 2015, the Federal Ministry of Finance caused the account of Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority to be credited with the sum of N1.17 billion for execution of capital projects in 2014 budget. However, the ministry without any cogent reason instructed the bank to keep the money on hold.”

He also said that “on April 11, 2015, the ministry inexplicably made the bank to return the money to it, an action that rendered the authority incapable of discharging its contractual obligations and also stop the execution of projects.”

The lawmaker, before adoption of his motion by the House, regretted that the said fund, which was meant for agricultural purposes in Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states, may have been diverted by the former administration of President Goodluck Jonathan for other uses.

In passing the motion, the House resolved to set up an ad-hoc committee “to investigate the circumstances of the conditional release, subsequent retrieval of the fund and report back to the House within one month for further legislative inputs”.

Besides, the House also resolved to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the completion of dualisation of the Keffi-Akwanga- Lafia-Makurdi-Enugu Road to ease free flow of traffic and reduce cases of accidents on the road.