Reps C’ttee questions health minister on N10bn PPP funding

The House of Representatives Joint Committee on Public Assets and Special Duties has queried the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, over the payment of N10 billion equity contribution in the implementation of public-private partnership programmes and concession agreements aimed at improving healthcare delivery in Nigeria.

The Joint Committee has asked the Federal Government to suspend all PPP and concessionary agreements until the conclusion of its investigation.

The panel’s task is to investigate all PPPs and concessionary agreements of government agencies since 1999.

The Committee is currently investigating BioVaccines Nigeria Limited, a joint venture between the Federal Government and May and Baker established in 2007.

At a public hearing initiated by the Committee on Tuesday, the Deputy
Chairman, Dabo Haruna, urged Pate to submit relevant documents, including evidence of advertisement for these PPPs, expressions of interest on the leases, as well as specific achievements recorded by the Ministry during the referenced period.

The Chairman of the Committee, Ademorin Kuye, stated that the minister must provide documents supporting the Ministry’s N10 billion equity contribution.

Pate was also directed to provide relevant documents regarding the lease of land to May and Baker in Lagos and to submit a document detailing the transfer of shares to the Ministry of Finance Incorporated.

Kuye said, “I also want to bring to your notice that in the document submitted, the equity contribution of the Federal Government is N10 billion.

“We take this as part of the information and documents that will be submitted alongside the pending documents. We want to know where that money is, how the funds were utilised, when the money was released, and where the money has been deposited.

“Also, part of the agreement is that the government provided a parcel of land in Lagos. We want comprehensive documentation of the agreement and the details of the land.

“Finally, we want you to clarify the share capital of the Federal Government and that of the partners in your next appearance. We want documents showing in detail how the shares have been allocated, including the percentage belonging to the Federal Government and the percentage of the partners.”

The minister requested additional time until the next sitting to provide the relevant documents.

He said, “The Ministry has taken steps to collect the available documents. I would like to plead with the Committee to allow us more time to ensure that what we present is thorough and complete.

“I will personally vet all the documents before they are submitted to you, and where they are not available, we will come back to you. As you can understand, many of these agreements were made years before we assumed office, and we’re dealing with the residue of those agreements, which I believe have been shared with you. However, I acknowledge that the information is incomplete.

“Mr Chairman, I do not wish to share incomplete information with you. We are working diligently to ensure that we gather all the necessary information and return to you with an indication of what we have and the gaps that exist in what we have inherited.

“I appreciate your patience, but it is quite challenging to gather all the documents that span many years. We are responsible for ensuring that you receive all the information you need to conduct your due diligence.

“In this context, I request that the Committee grant us more time, and I will personally ensure that we compile the information, including a timeline of when the agreements were made,” he said.

Following his plea, the Committee directed the Minister to appear before it no later than November 19 for the continuation of the investigation.