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Reps C’ttee questions health minister on N10bn PPP funding

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

The Joint Committee has requested that the Federal Government suspend all PPP and concessionary agreements until its investigation is completed.

The panel's mandate is to investigate all PPPs and concessionary agreements between government agencies since 1999.

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

During a public hearing on Tuesday, the Committee's Deputy Chairperson, Dabo Haruna, requested that Pate submit relevant documents, such as evidence of advertisement for PPPs, lease expressions of interest, and Ministry achievements during the relevant period.

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

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


Kuye added, "I also want to bring to your attention that the Federal Government's equity contribution is N10 billion, as stated in the submitted document.

"We will include this information and documents with the pending documents. We want to know where the funds are, how they were used, when they were released, and where they were deposited.


"As part of the agreement, the government provided a plot of land in Lagos. We want comprehensive documentation of the agreement and the land's details.

"Finally, we would like you to clarify the share capital of the Federal Government and the partners in your next appearance. We want documents that detail how the shares were allocated, including the percentage owned by the Federal Government and the percentage held by the partners."

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

He stated, "The Ministry has taken steps to collect the available documents." I would like to ask the Committee to give us more time to ensure that what we present is thorough and complete.

"I will personally review all of the documents before submitting them to you; if they are not available, we will contact you. As you can imagine, many of these agreements were made years before we took office, and we are dealing with the ramifications of those agreements, which I believe were shared with you. However, I understand that the information is incomplete.


“Mr Chairman, I don't want to share incomplete information with you. We are working hard to gather all of the necessary information and provide you with an indication of what we have and the gaps in what we have inherited.

"I appreciate your patience, but gathering all of the documents that span many years has proven difficult. We are responsible for ensuring that you have all of the information you need to complete 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 told reporters.

Following his request, the Committee directed that the Minister appear before it no later than November 19 to continue the investigation.

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