Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Minister of Trade and Investment Olusegun Aganga for the third time yesterday failed? to appear before the Senate Committee on Investment to explain what has become of the Export Expansion Grant meant to encourage cotton growers in the country.
The export Expansion Grant scheme was introduced by the Federal Government to stimulate growth of the non-oil export sector and also support the NEEDS objective of mainstreaming businesses that are currently operating in the informal sector.
Members of the Cotton Association of Nigeria had petitioned the committee over the several charges they were being made to pay by the NCS with respect to the exportation of their commodities and would want the National Assembly intervene to get their products exported.
The Senate Committee on Investment headed by former minister of state for finance under Okonjo-Iweala, Nenadi Usman had invited the? ministers of finance and trade and investment along with the Comptroller General of Customs Abdullahi Dikko to explain what has become of the scheme.
At the hearing yesterday, both Okonjo-Iweala, Aganga and Dikko were absent and their absence angered the committee members who saw the actions of the ministers as an affront on the legislators who threatened to impose the law of arrest should they fail to appear next week Monday.
An explanation by an official of the Ministry of Finance to explain to the committee that Okonjo-Iweala had sent a letter of apology, the chairman, Usman said “she (Okonjo-Iweala) should have called me or sent her letter but not to send a letter about an hour to the meeting”.
She along with other members of the committee lamented that yesterday’s invitation to appear was the third but sources disclosed that Okonjo-Iweala may not want to appear before Usman who was her junior in the Executive council.
It was also believed that the simmering feud between the two women while in government may have resulted in the two ministers not wanting to appear before the committee but members of the committee who took turns to speak unanimously agreed to send another letters of invitation to the three principal officers to appear next week.