On Tuesday, the House of Representatives ad hoc committee probing the use of environmental funding provided to the National Agency for Great Green Wall (NAGGW) forbade journalists from covering its meeting.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the committee, led by Representative Ismaila Dabo, accused the agency of spending N81. 2 billion to plant 21 million trees across 11 states on August 31.
During the committee meeting on Tuesday, the Director General of NAGGW, Dr. Yusuf Bukar, was scheduled to address the accusation.
Nevertheless, Mr. Edem Bassey, the committee clerk, instructed the reporters who showed up to cover the meeting to leave the room.
The investigation hearing was not meant to be covered by the media, according to Bassey, who claimed that the committee’s chairman had ordered that.
I wrote to you regarding the first sitting that you covered, and to the best of my knowledge, this Committee did not request another coverage in a letter. So the problem is resolved.
You are aware of the procedures in place; I am required to inform either you or the chairman; I haven’t done so, and the reason is that I wasn’t briefed to do so, he said.
He said that for the time being, “we do not need media coverage,” and that the committee has the same freedom to manage its proceedings as the House does.
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