Nigerian lawmakers on Saturday, March 25, 2017 summoned the attorney general, accountant general, minister of interior and four companies to appear before a committee of parliamentarians over allegations that revenues were withheld from the immigration service.
The companies performed services for the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in public-private partnerships, a committee of lawmakers in the upper chamber of parliament chaired by Senator Solomon Adeola were told by the head of the NIS.
The services, provided between 2012 and 2016, included the production of e-passports and expatriate residence permits.
The companies had “contractual agreements to perform some revenue generating service on behalf of the NIS with the company withholding a hefty percentage of revenue that would have accrued to the federal government,” a spokesperson for Adeola said.
A statement issued by the committee, which sat on Saturday, said there was a “need to get clarification on this issue from all the parties involved”.
The government officials and companies were summoned to appear before a Senate committee on April 6.
In recent weeks the Nigerian Senate has been more vibrant in dealing with issues of national concern.
Most notable was its intervention in stopping the forced payment of customs duties within the country, which culminated in the summoning of Colonel Hammed Ali, the comptroller of the Nigerian Customs Services and and eventual call for his resignation following Ali’s refusal to appear before the upper chamber of the federal legislature.
via Reuters
