Nasarawa Assembly probes alleged diversion of palliatives

Tuesday saw the creation of a seven-person committee by the Nasarawa State House of Assembly to look into allegations of palliative drug diversion by state stakeholders and elected officials.

The House mandated that the committee see to it that everyone guilty of stealing medications intended for the needy is brought to justice in accordance with the law.

The committee was established by the House Speaker, Rt. Hon. Ibrahim Abdullahi, in response to issues of public interest raised by the Hon. Musa Ibrahim Abubakar (NNPP- Doma South) during the Lafia session of the House.

He claims that there are seven members of the committee: Hon. Abel Bala, the Deputy Speaker of the House, who serves as Chairman; Hon. Musa Ibrahim; Hon. Barr Esson Mairiga; Hon. Hajara Danyaro; Hon. Luka Zhekaba, the Minority Leader of the House; Hon. Daniel Ogazi; and Hon. Danladi Jatau. Barr. Safiya Balarabe serves as the committee secretary.
The committee was given three weeks by the Speaker to conduct a comprehensive investigation and provide a report of its findings to the House for appropriate action.

In his words, “I will allow you three weeks to complete your work and report back to the House, and all those involved must be invited at the committee level.

“It is regrettable and extremely disappointing that some individuals are undermining the noble goals of Mr. President and Governor Abdullahi Sule in easing the suffering of the underprivileged.

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To lessen the consequences of the subsidy removal, palliatives are used. I don’t understand why certain people diverted the majority of the palliatives for their own and their families’ use.

The Speaker demanded that the committee conduct a comprehensive investigation in order to hold those responsible for the item’s diversion accountable. She claimed that most of the palliatives, particularly rice, were sold to vendors in markets throughout the state.

The notion of forming the committee to investigate the alleged diverting of the palliatives intended for the state’s needy citizens was backed by Hon. Danladi Jatau, Hon. Solomon Akwashiki, Hon. Hajara Danyaro, and Hon. Musa Saidu in their individual comments.

When the problem was first brought up, the representative for Doma South Constituency, Hon. Musa Ibrahim Abubakar, bemoaned the fact that individuals in charge of distribution were stealing the medicines intended for the underprivileged residents of Doma LGA.

He requested cooperation from the Speaker and other House members by forming a committee to look into the alleged diversion of the painkillers.