2021 budget defence: Reps reject PTAD budget, give 72 hours ultimatum for reappearance

By Christiana Ekpa

The House of Representatives Commitee on Pensions was angered with the Executive secretary, Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, PTAD, Dr. Chioma Ejikeme over her non-appearance before it for budget defence.
The Committee sent back officials of the Directorate who showed up for their 2021 budget defence and ordered them to reappear within 72 hours with their boss.
The Committee took the resolution via a motion after the Director of Parastatals Pensions Department who represented the Executive Secretary had announced that he was representing his boss who was “unavoidably absent”.
A member of the committee, Hon. Chudu Mumah had moved the motion, calling the attention of the Chairman, Hon. Kabiru Hassan and other members to the absence of the Executive Secretary.
He said that there were serious issues to defend in the last year’s budget which only the executive secretary can satisfactory answer to.
According not him, it would be counterproductive to delegate responsibility to the director who he said will not have all the answers.
He then proposed a 72 hour ultimatum to compel the appearance of Ejikeme.
He said: “We can’t find the head of the agency. What can we tell Nigerians? It is the head of institution that is liable. I don’t think we should entertain this. Nigerians don’t even know that there is anything called PTAD. Mr. Chairman, I am moving a motion that they should go back from wherever they came from.”
With the motion seconded, the Committee Chair ruled that the officials should go back, fetch their boss and reappear on Tuesday next week.