Benin CITY- Edo State House of Assembly has set up a five-man Ad-hoc committee to probe the activities of the Edo State Oil and Gas Producing Areas Development Commission for the purpose of ascertaining the actual amount released to the commission by the state government as well as verify the projects so far executed by the commission since inception.

The five-man Ad-hoc committee which has Hon. Blessing Agbebaku (Owan West) as chairman, is also to look at the spending level of the commission and the general expenditure of the organisation.

The committee which also has Hon. Paul Ohonbamu (Egor) , Hon. Uyi Igbe (Oredo West), Hon. Sunday Ebosele Ereghan (Esan Central) and Hon. Fred Omoigberai (Owan East ) as members is to report to the House if due process was actually followed and recommend sanction where necessary.

Announcing the constitution of the committee, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Zakawanu Garuba urged the committee to examine the law establishing the commission with the aim of reviewing certain aspect if necessary.

Rt. Hon. Garuba who emphasised that the setting up of the Ad-hoc committee was not to witch hunt anybody, further advised the committee not to fail to make recommendation to the House where necessary, just as he gave the committee one month deadline to submit its report to the House.

Briefing the Parliament earlier on the activities of his commission since inception, the chairman of the commission Mr. Lawrence Osabuohien Ogieva, said the organisation’s budgetary provision from July last year to July this year, stood at N4.04 billion, adding that while N2 billion was approved as budgetary provision for 2007, the year 2008 got N2.04 billion.

Mr. Ogieva, however, lamented that the average monthly subvention of N45 million was grossly inadequate.

While soliciting for increased funding of the commission’s activities so as to enable it meet up with the development needs of the oil and gas producing communities in the state, the commission’s chairman put the total expenditure of the commission till date at N764 million.
In their various comments on the brief as presented by the commission’s chairman, the lawmakers queried the amount spent on each of the projects so far executed by the commission, describing it as outrageous and falling short of due process in terms of laid down procedure for contract awards.

For example, the lawmakers frowned at the use of N186 million for office furniture and fittings, N18 million for documentation as well as the sum of N26 million said to have been spent on the procurement of two 500 KVA and 200 KVA transformers respectively.

The House also queried the use of N26 million for the production of exercise books and sum of N34 million said to have been spent on the construction of staff quarters as well as the N13 million spent on the renovation of health centres.