From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives has queried the Federal Ministry of Health over the disengagement of a local vendor involved in the implementation of a $100 million malaria control project by United Nations Office for Project Services(UNOPS)
The House Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, at an investigative hearing, yesterday, expressed displeasure that the local vendor was disengaged contrary to the agreement between Nigeria and the Islamic Development Bank, which gave the country, the $100 million facility.
The committee chairman, Amobi Ogah, gave the Minister of Health, Professor Ali Pate, two weeks to furnish the lawmakers with a comprehensive report on the project. Ogah expressed dismay that the disqualification of the local contractor have stalled the implementation of the $100 million malaria control project.
He said: “we are aware that malaria continues to exert a huge burden on majority of Nigerians, with the greatest toll affecting children under 5 and pregnant women. Nigeria contributes 27 percent of the global malaria cases, (World Malaria Report, 2021) and 31 percent of global malaria deaths.
“In view of this sad story every effort must be made to support any initiative that attempts to reduce or eliminate malaria burden in Nigeria. However we are at a loss as to the reason why the Loan agreement between Nigeria and the Islamic Bank which is expected to last for 3 years, that is terminating by end of this year, has suffered monumental setback.
“As the Parliament, representing the people of Nigeria who are affected and ravaged daily by malaria epidemic cannot fold our hands and watch matters degenerate so badly, hence our intervention in this matter.”
However, Pate explained to the lawmakers that the UNOPS disengaged the local vendor, which was engaged by the ministry to implement the project. He stated the fund for the malaria control project was still intact.
He said: “ It is a $100 million loan that was meant for five states: Bayelsa, Edo, Enugu, Kogi and FCT. The Federal Government signed and negotiated the loan and also state level legal agreements with those five entities were constructed by the Islamic Development Bank and the Ministry of Finance so that they are borrowing that money to implement the malaria programme.”
The minister added that “the tender process started in early 2023. The process ran into procedural difficulty and it was suspended by UNOPS in an open and transparent manner and investigated. Consequently the MOU was reversed because there were issues with this sole producer. “