Sharp practices: Reps move to probe missing N526bn,$21bn from Federations Account

By Christiana Ekpa

The House of Representatives yesterday resolved to investigate the loss of about N526 billion and $21 billion from the Federations Accounts as a result of sharp practices by revenue generating agencies with the active collaboration of some private sector players.

This was as the result of a motion sponsored by Hon Abdullahi Sa’ad Abdulkadir (APC, Bauchi) on the need to investigate the report of the Auditor General of the Federation on the accounting and financial infractions of government and international organisations.

Abdulkadir said that the Auditor General for the Federation had raised several queries on the Federation Account covering period 2015 to 2017 regarding losses of income incurable to the Federations account.

According to him the losses was due to leakages, financial misapplication, misappropriation, under-reporting and falsification, adding that this has been corroborated by the Forensic Audit Report by KPMG that indicted some Federal Government Agencies for losses of up to N526 billion and $21 billion.

According to him, the losses were allegedly occasioned by an interplay of activities of persons both in the public and private sectors of the Nigerian economy, including multinational companies and the continued exploitation of Nigeria’s economy through the deployment of deceitful and irregular accounting practices, adding that this has resulted in huge capital flight, deficit balances and a weakened economy.

He stressed that Sections 88 & 89 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) confer on the Legislature power to investigate with the aim of exposing corruption, inefficiency and blocking waste in the administration of public funds

The lawmaker argued that if urgent steps are not taken to address those hydra-headed issues, they may lead to a total collapse of the economy with its attendant social and political crisis.

Meanwhile, the KPMG report sited by The Nation listed government agencies that may have been involved to include Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Nigeria Petroleum Development Company, Department of Petroleum Resources, Central Bank of Nigeria, Federal Inland Revenue Services and the Nigeria Customs Service.