Committee Chairman Bamidele Salam also criticized the reported N4 billion expenditure by the ministry for recruiting 100 personnel for a three-month project called "Youth Engagement for Sanitation" across the 774 Local Government Areas.
Permanent Secretary Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack explained that the boreholes were drilled across several states, including the Federal Capital Territory.
She stated, "In total, 299 new water schemes were embarked upon during the period, and a total of 188 old and abandoned solar boreholes were resuscitated. Each state received N10 million intervention items."
Not satisfied with the explanation, committee members requested verification of project sites to ensure their authenticity. They also sought details on the recruitment of YES personnel, demanding the "full list of youths, their account numbers, schedule of payments sent to respective banks, and all other documents related to the project."
Committee Chairman Salam emphasized the committee's commitment to thorough project verification, intending to visit states such as Osun, Ogun, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Imo, Ebonyi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Katsina, Sokoto, Bauchi, and Adamawa for on-site inspections.
Salam stated, "The committee will need to go and see exactly what is on the ground so that we can have value for money."
The committee called on the permanent secretary to provide all relevant documents related to contracts, procurement, and certificates needed for execution at the next appearance.
In a related development, the committee refused to accept submissions from representatives of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development regarding the N2 billion intervention funds, insisting that the accounting officer appear in person. The management of the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja, was also summoned to address irregularities noticed in the dates of contract awards.
