(http://naija2day.com/http%3A//naija2day.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Naija2day.png//2012/12/Nigerias-national-assembly-300x225.jpg) (http://naija2day.com/http%3A//naija2day.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Naija2day.png//2012/12/Nigerias-national-assembly.jpg)The House of Representatives yesterday resolved to set up an ad- hoc committee to investigate the alleged disappearance of over N2 billion from the vault of the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company, NSPMC.
The committee is to present its report within four weeks.
The House also insisted on the sack of the director-general of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Harold Demuren, and the revocation of Dana Air's licence.
Adopting the resolutions of a motion moved by Hon Albert Sam Tsokwa, chairman of the Business and Rules Committee, the lawmakers expressed worry that there have been conflicting information on the actual amount declared missing.
Leading the debate, Tsokwa informed his colleagues that "while the CBN governor said it was about N2 billion, the managing director of the NSPMS had claimed that the amount missing was N1.5 million, and the media adviser to the managing director claimed the actual amount missing was N900,000 due to a security breach".
He also notified them that "39 workers of the NSPMC" were summarily sacked from the establishment after the news about the theft was made public with any investigation being carried out".
The lawmaker also added that it was disturbing: "This is the second known time that large sums of money have allegedly disappeared in the course of production due to security breaches as admitted by the management of the NSPMC."
The lawmakers also yesterday insisted on the full implementation of a probe report of the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation into the crashed Dana aircraft in Iju-Ishaga, a Lagos suburb, on June 3, 2012.
The ill-fated flight on a scheduled trip from Abuja to Lagos killed over 160 passengers and crew members as well as those on the ground in the neighbourhood.
The probe report adopted last December, among others, recommended the sack of the DG of NCAA, Dr. Harold Demuren, over "professional negligence and incompetence" resulting in the fatal Dana plane crash.
Also, Dana's current Air Operating Certificate (AOC) should be revoked because it was not issued in compliance with NCAA's Civil Regulations Guideline 2009, the probe report further recommended.
The report directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to recover the N35.5 billion which was extended to Air Nigeria through the United Bank for Africa (UBA) but was diverted to other uses.
Ruling on a motion sponsored by Hon. Ossai Nicholas Ossai (Delta/PDP), House speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal directed the House standing committee on legislative compliance to ensure the executive's implementation of the probe report.
Seven months after Dana's fleet was grounded by Nigerian aviation authorities following the crash of its Flight 992, the airline resumed domestic flights January 4.
naija2day