Audit Report: Senate Indicts AGF, NAFDAC, 45 other MDAs for Financial Infractions

By Iyojo Ameh, Abuja

The Senate has indicted the office of Accountant General of the Federation and National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and 45 others Ministries , Departments and Agencies.

The indictment was sequel to the reports of 2017 and 2018 of Auditor General of the Federation considered by Senate Public Accounts Committee which was upheld by the Senate in plenary.

Addressing Newsmen in Abuja after presentation and approval of the reports, the Vice Chairman of Senate Public Accounts Committee, Senator Hassan Hadejia said that the Committee has been able to submit four reports to the Senate which has never happened since 1999.

He explained that the 2015, 2016,2017 and 2018 reports of auditor general have been submitted and considered by Senate.

He assured that it’s Committee wiil submit bill seeking strict implementation of the National Assembly recommendation on Annual Federal Audit Reports and for related matters, 2023( SB.117) by next week which will enable the country to fight corruption.

According to him” We have put two bills together, the Federal Audit Bill which has already been passed. Next week, the second Bill relating to the office of the Auditor General for the Federation. It seeks to approve some level of mandate for the adoption and application of the Public Accounts Committee reports.

“The total money that we have recovered so far and which we have said should be refunded, amounted to over one trillion naira.

“We have submitted our reports to the executive arm of government but up till now we have not even got an acknowledgement of the report from the executive.

“These are reports that were supposed to be received by the executive and applied immediately because it is not supposed to be subjected to any form of investigation. We had thoroughly investigated it in conjunction with the Auditor General’s office.

“The report we submitted is sacrossant. Nothing to either add or remove. We have been able to identify those who misappropriated government funds and we have also traced where the money is. We have recommended that the money be retrieved but up till today, nothing has been done.

“We expect the President to direct the Attorney General for the Federation to act on it but up till now, nothing has been done, he stressed.

Meanwhile, the Senate ordered Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to recover $10 million paid for legal fee and technical charges without results to Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).

In the $10 million expected to be recovered was $5 million for legal fee and additional $5 million for technical charges.

The $5 million was said to be the five per cent of the $9.3 billion Nigerian hydro-carbon loss between 2013 and 2014.The law firm, not disclosed, was expected to carry out necessary legal actions that would enable NIMASA to perfect an intelligence based efforts to track the nation’s hyrdo-carbon global movement.

The AuGF report indicated that the money was paid from Zenith Bank (UK) dollar account.Part of the query read: “Audit observed that the agency engaged the service of a legal firm through a letter with reference number NIMASA/DG/KP/2014/001, dated 24th January 2014.

“It was for the intelligence based tracking of global movement of Nigerian hydro-carbon and recovery of loss by the federal government of Nigeria in the sum of $9.3 billion between 2013 and 2014, with a start-off cost of $5 million and five per cent of all sums recovered.

“Payment instruction with reference number NIMASA/2007/DFS/WJ/5.500/VOL.11/341 dated April 2014 showed that the firm was paid the sum of $4,523,809.52 (Four million five hundred and twenty three thousand eight hundred and nine dollar fifty two cents only) net as professional fees from Zenith Bank (UK) Dollar account.

“The naira equivalent of this amount was N741,904,761.28 at an exchange rate of N164 to a dollar as of that date.“No evidence of recovery of either part or the entire sum of the 9.3 Billion US Dollars was presented as at the time of the Periodic Check in February 2018, despite the huge amount of money already paid to this effect.”

The Senate therefore sustained the report of the committee which indicted NIMASA.

Other MDAs indicted by the 2017 and 2018 report are Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Environment, National Library, Financial Reporting Council, Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Mortgage Bank, Energy Commission, Nigerian Copyright Commission, Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Iron .

Also indicted are Ministry of Justice , Federal Civil Service Commission, Public Complaint Commission, University of Uyo, University of Abuja, Federal University, Oye Ekiti, National Examination Council (NECO).