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By Aderogba George
The Integrity Advocacy for Development Initiative (IADI), a civil society organisation, has called for greater transparency in contracts and expenditure at the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA).
IADI Executive Director, Comrade Ofomhi Christopher, made the call at a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday.
Christopher said the call followed an Oct. 1 publication by a media firm which raised questions about the handling of some contracts and expenditure at NNRA.
He said the claims should be examined against relevant financial, procurement, project and audit records to establish the transactions involved, project status and NNRA’s responses.
He also referred to an Oct. 5 protest by Global Integrity Watch (GIW) at the NNRA headquarters over accountability, audit observations and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.
He said audit observations should be verified before conclusions were reached.
On the Authority’s 2024 capital budget, Christopher referred to an explanation reportedly given by the NNRA Director-General.
According to him, the explanation put the 2024 capital budget at about N2.7 billion, comprising N200 million attributed to the Authority and about N2.5 billion for constituency projects.
He said an additional N200 million regional project was also mentioned, bringing the total figure cited to about N2.9 billion.
Christopher said the figures should be checked against appropriation documents, procurement and payment records, as well as audit reports.
He called on relevant authorities to clarify the status of the audit observations and responses received from the NNRA.
On the GIW protest, Christopher said civil society organisations had the right to peaceful assembly and to seek information from public institutions.
He urged organisations seeking information under the FOI Act to also use the legal and institutional channels provided by the law.
Failure to receive a response to an FOI request, he said, should not, on its own, be taken as confirmation of an allegation.
Christopher urged public institutions and civil society organisations to address the concerns through established procedures and peaceful engagement.
NAN recalls that during the Oct. 5 protest, Mr Lanre Adeoye, an Administrative and Human Resources official representing NNRA management, received the protesters and the document submitted by the group.
Adeoye acknowledged the concerns and assured the protesters that the submissions would be reviewed.
He said public institutions should be able to account for how public funds were received, committed, spent and accounted for.
“We will look at your request, we will look at your position and your plight. We will get back to you in no time,” he said.
Adeoye also noted that the NNRA had operated under different leaderships during its 25-year history and undergone various stages of institutional development.
He urged the protesters to remain calm, saying matters concerning the Authority were handled through established institutional procedures and reporting lines involving its supervising ministry and the Federal Government.
“It is not that your letters have been ignored. We have seen your letter and, at the management level, it has been looked at,” he said.
Adeoye assured the group that the submissions would be considered and a response provided. (NAN)www.nannews.ng
Edited by Tosin Kolade
English (US) ·