Reps accuse BPE DG of lying as Customs boss shuns summon again

A House of Representatives ad-hoc committee on Monday began its probe of the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE).

The panel accused the acting BPE Director-General, Vincent Akpotaire, of lying under oath when he appeared before it.

Members investigating allegations of payment of billions of naira as insurance cover to government officials, chaired by Rep Adekunle Abdulkabir Akinlade (APC, Ogun), had asked the acting DG if he was aware that the BPE was under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on insurance related matters.

The committee also queried the acting DG to explain why the bureau dealt with only certain insurance firms and excluded others over the years, and that he should provide reasons why a particular firm was selected as the lead underwriter, among others.

Responding, the acting DG said he was not aware of any probe and that the bureau has been meeting its insurance obligations since 2009, the last time it carried out an advertisement on the matter, saying the bureau did not breach any law.

The lawmakers, however, described the DG’s response as irresponsible, wondering why he did not know they were serious issues facing the BPE.

The lawmakers added that explanations they got from the DG showed he was constantly breaching the Public Procurement Act on matters related to insurance.

Meanwhile, the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Hameed Ali, for the third time shunned the ad-hoc committee.

Ali was summoned by the committee twice before yesterday to explain why the service paid the sum of N250 million to an insurance firm as commission for insurance cover.

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