The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has told Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that his ministry is working with the Office of the Chief of Staff and the National Security Coordinator to retrieve 100 pickup vehicles loaned to the National Security Secretariat during the COVID-19 emergency.
Appearing before the Committee on Monday, [November 3, 2025], Mr Iddrisu said the vehicles were procured in 2020 for senior high schools but were released for national security operations at the height of the pandemic to support emergency services.
“Chairman, the Chief Director is here. But let me assure you that your question is important and must be placed in context. During COVID, the country had to respond to a national emergency. At the time, National Security required those vehicles urgently. You know how government procurement works; we could not have waited one to three months to go through procurement processes before getting vehicles to support their work,” Mr Iddrisu said.
He explained that the vehicles were used to facilitate the movement of emergency and health personnel across the country during the crisis.
“They had to move across the country to support health staff in delivering services to those who needed them,” he added.
The Minister confirmed that the vehicles have not yet been returned to the Ministry of Education. He said he has formally written to the National Security Coordinator to account for them.
“Chair, I am liaising with the Office of the Chief of Staff and the National Security Coordinator for the retrieval of the vehicles. I have written and signed a letter to the National Security Coordinator requesting accountability for them, and I will follow up on it,” Mr Iddrisu told the Committee.
The issue came up after an audit observation revealed that 100 brand-new Isuzu pickups procured on March 28 and 29, 2020, for the Ministry of Education were still in the custody of the National Security Secretariat.
The Committee asked for an update on their current status and what steps were being taken to recover them.
