Former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Muhammad Sabo Nanono has been exposed.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development had stated that it spent a whopping N18.9 billion on bush clearing, land preparation, among others during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Chairman of the Public Account Committee of the House of Representatives Committee (PAC), Wole Oke disclosed this recently.
He said; “During the lockdown of the country as a result of COVID-19, some companies took contracts worth about N18 billion for bush clearing from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture for land preparation, rehabilitation of soil plant lab and others. We cannot shave their heads in their absence.”
“We have invited them to come and give us their own side by responding to the issues and show us the places they are supposed to have cleared. They have to take us to the land they cleared.”
“We have invited the Ministry of Agriculture, and they have made (a) submission. But some of our members whose constituencies these projects were supposed to be domiciled doubted the existence of these projects, and for (a) fair hearing, we have invited the companies that got the contract for them to come and tell this committee where and when the jobs were executed.”
For those who don’t know, we can tell you for free that Sabo Nanono was the Minister of Agriculture during that said period.
Alhaji Muhammad Sabo Nanono was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in August 2019. He was thereafter sacked on September 1st, 2021.