Senate Accuses AGF, NAFDAC, 45 Others Of Financial Infractions

The Senate has said the Office of Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) and National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and 45 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have committed financial infractions.

The Senate position was sequel to the reports of 2017 and 2018 of auditor-general of the federation considered by the Senate Public Accounts Committee which was upheld at the plenary session.

Addressing Journalists after presentation 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 the auditor general have been submitted and considered by the Senate.

He said its committee will submit a bill seeking strict implementation of the National Assembly recommendation Annual Federal Audit Reports and for related matters, 2023 (SB.117) by next week which will enable the country to fight corruption.

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

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 hydrocarbon global movement.

The AuGF report indicated that the money was paid from a commercial 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 net as professional fees from (UK) dollar account in a commercial bank.

“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 US$9.3 billion 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, Oron.

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