TheCable

The house of representatives has demanded that the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) account domiciled with Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc be restricted.

The lower legislative chamber made the request after considering the report of its committee that investigated the implementation of the treasury single account (TSA) policy.

The HYPREP which is an agency of the ministry of environment is in charge of the Ogoni clean-up exercise in the Niger Delta region.

The lawmakers said the account should be “immediately frozen” and full investigation into its status conducted.

They also said all government ministries, governments and agencies who violated the TSA policy should be sanctioned accordingly.

The green chamber also directed that payments outside the TSA policy should be suspended as it is seen as “an attempt to circumvent the policy.”

They added that the application of waivers of any MDA’s account must follow the guidelines on TSA implementation and “duly approved and signed by the president only.”

Other directives given include:

• That the ministry of finance and office of the accountant-general of the federation should be asked to publish, sanction with immediate effect all MDAs, private organisations as well as banks where federal government’s funds are hidden.
• That the accountant-general should henceforth carry out a quaterly appraisal and reconciliation of the TSA/CFR account and publish reports on the performance of the TSA.
• That the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) should make full disclosures on the natures and status of the fund in the NNPC Pension Fund Ltd domiciled in Aso Savings and Loans Plc.