Reps Give Chief Of Naval Staff 7-Day Ultimatum To Appear Before Public Account Committee

A file photo of lawmakers during plenary at the House of Representatives chamber in Abuja .

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Account has given a 7-day ultimatum to the Chief of Naval Staff, Ibok Ekwe Ibas, to appear before the Committee.

Lawmakers in the Committee expressed their displeasure that the Chief of Naval Staff failed to honour their earlier invitation, and instead sent the Nigerian Navy’s Assistant Director of Budget, whom the lawmakers consider to be too low ranked to address the Parliament.

They asked the Chief Of Naval Staff to ensure that he honours the invitation within seven days.

Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas is expected to respond to a query from the Auditor General of the Federation regarding certain activities within the Nigerian Navy.

(File: Chief of Naval Staff, Ibok Ekwe Ibas, at a meeting with the President in Abuja on May 14, 2020.)

Recently, the House of Representatives launched various investigations and probes, querying some sectors and agencies within the country.

Most recent probes include an investigation into the alleged illegal withdrawals from the dividends accounts of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), as well as a probe of the power sector.

Some other investigations by the Reps include a probe into the financial budgetary provisions, approvals and multilateral donations on skills acquisition and related programmes of the Federal Government and its agencies, including the home-grown school feeding programme.