By Gloria Ikibah
The House of Representatives has questioned the Acting Comptroller General of the Nigeria Correctional Services, Sylvester Nwakuche, over the utilised of N12.5 billion interventions funds received in 2024.
The House Committee on Reformatory Institutions quizzed the CG when he appeared before members of the committee for the defence of the agency’s 2025 budget, and demanded that he furnish it with details of the projects, contractors and locations where the funds were expended.
Nwakuche told the committee that the service received two tranches of intervention funds in 2024 comprising N1.5 billion and another N11 billion.
According to him, the funds were spent on concrete fencing of custodial centres, remodeling of the Kuje custodial centres among other projects.
But a member of the committee, Afam Ogene queried why the correctional service went on spending the intervention funds without seeking approval from the National Assembly, and requested that details of the utilisations of the funds be made available to the committee.
The committee also resolved that the CG furnished it with documents of all transactions and contractors involved in the feeding rations for inmates between January 2024 till date.
Earlier, the CG made a budget presentation of N183.6 billion for the 2025 fiscal year for consideration and approval.
The breakdown of the budget includes: N124.3 billion for personnel; N13.4 billion for capital expenditures; N45.8 billion for overheads; N38.03 billion for feeding of inmates and N7.7 billion for service overhead.
Nwakuche said the N13.4 billion capital budget earmarked for the service was inadequate, and appealed for an increase in the capital expenditure to N70.4 billion.
He said the proposed N70.4 billion capital expenditures if approved will be expended on the installation of modern technology-integrated systems for custodial facilities such as CCTVs, surveillance cameras and accessories in the maximum and minimum security custodial centers nationwide.
He said: “The service will also embark on the general rehabilitation and digitalisation of inmates and personnel activities in the custodial centers nationwide; upgrading and equipping of the service’s seven training institutions for the modern ICT-compliant training centers; purchase of operational vehicles, arms and ammunition; inmate biometric scanners, security gadgets, body cameras, access control and guard tower systems and staff communication gadgets, such as walking talkies”, he said.