An ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives has summoned the Minister of Water Resources, Joseph Utsev, over the sale of assets belonging to Water Basin Authorities.
The Committee, chaired by Julius Ihonvbere, was constituted to investigate the alleged illegal disposal of some government assets between 2010 and 2022 and non-remittance of the revenue realised from the sale of the assets into the consolidated revenue fund (CRF).
Ihonvbere issued the summons on Monday during the appearance of some officials of the water basin authorities before the panel.
It would be recalled that Prof Utsev and 44 other ministers were sworn in on August 21, but the sales were before his appointment.
Adeniyi Aremu, the managing director of Lower Niger River Basin, had informed the committee that the auction was done by the ministry, therefore, the committee asked the minister to appear.
“I want to assure you for now that we are not very satisfied and that is because you did not preside over this process,” Prof Ihonvbere said while addressing the officials.
Prof Ihonvbere also summoned the leadership of Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Maritime Authority and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC).
