The Upper Chamber of the National Assembly on Wednesday indicted the office of Accountant General of the Federation, National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Ministries of Finance, Justice and 43 other Ministries, Departments and Agencies over financial infractions

The Senate has also 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).

The indictment of the MDAs followed reports of 2017 and 2018 of the Auditor General of the Federation considered by Senate Committee on Public Accounts, which was upheld at the plenary session.

Addressing Journalists shortly after the presentation of the reports, the Vice Chairman of the Committee, Senator Hassan Hadejia, disclosed that the Committee has been able to submit four reports to the Senate, a development that has never happened since 1999.

According to him, 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 Annual Federal Audit Reports and for related matters, 2023( SB.117) by next week, which will enable the country to fight corruption.

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

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

Meanwhile, the $10 million expected to be recovered by NIMASA, $5 million is 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 hydro-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 numberNIMASA/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 dollars 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. (Daily Independent)

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