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Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives, yesterday, ordered a ban on the operation of unpainted taxis in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
It also ordered the FCT authorities to commence registration, regulation and licensing of commercial vehicle given the associated risks to commuters.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion by Leke Abejide who said unregulated taxi cabs and commercial vehicles in the FCT were “exposing commuters to incidents of kidnappings and several other risks.”
The House asked the FCT administration and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to enforce the ban on unpainted and unlicensed taxi operations within the city.
In a related development, the House mandated its Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) to investigate the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) following allegations of non-remittance of about N1.343 trillion Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to the government coffers.
The committee is expected to report its findings to the House within 10 weeks.
The probe followed the adoption of a motion jointly sponsored by Julius Ihonvbere and Ossai Ossai titled “the need to investigate the N1.343 unremitted revenue by the PPPRA.”
Ihonvbere, in the lead debate, alleged that PPPRA withheld N1.343 trillion IGR which it ought to have paid into the Federal Government Consolidated Revenue Account.
The lawmaker noted that the failure to remit the money into the account domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is a contravention of Section 162(1) of the 1999 Constitution ( as amended).
According to Ihonvbere, the Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akubueze, had during a meeting with CEOs of Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs), revealed how PPPRA withheld unremitted operating surplus amounting to over N1.343 trillion.
“The alleged N1.343 trillion unremitted revenue by PPPRA was collected as part of its IGR, thereby, constituting a breach of the public accounting principle and the Treasury Single Account policy of the federal government. This allegation is not only grave, but worthy of investigation by the House, especially in the face of paucity of funds and economic crunch the government is currently passing through.”
Ihonvbere also said the non-remittance by the PPPRA undermines the government’s anti-corruption drive and quest to block leakages.
He lamented the lack of transparency in public sector accounting occasioned by fiscal indiscipline by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) saying it had continued to “sink holes in government purse.”
Also, following a unanimous adoption of a motion moved by Chinedu Martins (PDP-Imo) ,the House gave the National Orientation Agency (NOA) the go-ahead to begin public enlightenment and awareness campaigns aimed at discouraging liquor stores, from selling alcohol children less than 18 years.
It also urged the Ministry of Health to liaise with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to put mechanisms in place to implement the age restriction on alcohol consumption and encouraged the NOA to enlighten the public not to sell alcohol to children at restaurants, night clubs and beer parlours.
Moving the motion, Martins expressed concern on the disturbing trend of alcohol consumption and abuse by children especially among secondary school students.
