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SURE-P Chairman denies allegations of Corruption

By on December 10, 2012

At a time when the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has received several knocks in the way it has handled the issue of the  petroleum sector, subsidy and the operations of the power sector , the Chairman of the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme  Mr Christopher Kolade has refuted claims of impropriety and corruption.

Mr Kolade a well respected Nigerian eminent personality was appointed the Chairman of the Committee to manage the fund accruing from the subsidy removal by Government to aid and fund strategic state projects that will boost and revive the economy.

In an interactive session with Journalists the Chairman said the Re-Investment Committee had spent about N1 billion  so far and had not received any allocation Government since July,2012 and therefore described as unfounded the allegations that it spent N2.2 billion on its secretariat activities for the past 10 months.

He asserted that “Government has determined the areas it wanted to intervene before we came on board. Our own responsibility is to ensure that money allocated for any project is used where it was mapped out for. We did not determine what project we are carrying out. Our role is to make sure we get value for the money spent. It is the federal government that has responsibility to determine what to spend the money for. We want to do a job that has quality. The National Assembly approved all the projects and money allocated for them”.

Furthermore he stated that the process for the committee does not allow it to keep the money as whatever amount is realized from the subsidy is kept with  the Central Bank of Nigeria, thereby leaving no room for mismanagement .

He therefore wondered how the committee would be involved in the perceived misconduct or gross  misuse of the funds, stating the committee will not continue to defend itself whenever it is wrongly labeled.

On the assignment and task  of the Committee, the Chairman said he and all his members made a commitment to uphold the tenets of probity, accountability, integrity and transparency in the discharge of their duties and pledged not to lower the standard.

Also Mr Christopher Kolade identified the areas in which his Committee has a role to assist the Government which include; Railway projects, Mass Transit services, Massive Road Construction and Bridges, Community services and development, Women and Youth Empowerment programmes and Initiatives, Vocational Training programmes and the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA).