The Federal Ministry of Water Resources is being investigated by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on the Disposal of Public Property for the sale of assets belonging to the 12 River Basin Development Authority in 2018.
The Punch reported that this occurred as the committee called six significant organizations to explain their roles in the sale of public assets at their disposal.
The Federal Ministry of Water Resources, the Anambra/Imo River Basin Development Authority, the Osun River Development Authority, the Nigeria Ports Authority, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, the Nigerian Railway Corporation, and the Nigeria Customs Service are among the invited organizations.
The River Basin Development Authority’s managing directors, who appeared before the committee on Monday, claimed that the Ministry of Water Resources handled the property’s sale because the organization lacked a governing board in 2018.
The RBDA leadership also informed the committee that the ministry advertised and chose the auctioneers who sold the assets and that it would act in the ministry’s place to respond to certain of the committee’s concerns.
The committee’s Chairman, Julius Ihonbvere, a member representing Edo State’s Owan Federal Constituency, criticised the MDs’ remarks, stating that the committee was left with no choice but to invite the ministry.
“I want to reassure you for the time being that this procedure did not go well and that is because you did not preside over it. We will ask you to return after we have obtained some of those documents directly from the ministry on behalf of your agency since we are dissatisfied with the discrepancies in some of the documents. We would also request direct communication from the minister,” he added.
