The Office of the Auditor General for the Federation (OAuGF) has directed the management of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) to account for the sum of N2,567,477,924.65 it spent without authorisation.

The directive is contained in the Auditor General for the Federation?s annual report on non-compliance/internal weaknesses in ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) of the federal government of Nigeria for the year ended December 31, 2021, submitted to the National Assembly.

The report shows that the management of FHA invested the sum of N2.5 billion in FHA Homes Limited, a mortgage bank wholly owned by FHA, without returns.

The OAuGF discovered that there was no evidence of approval for the said investment from relevant authorities, especially the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF).

It was also discovered that FHA spent the sum of N10 million to engage external solicitors without approval from the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), contrary to paragraph 2(a) of the establishment circular Ref. No. SGF/PS/CIR/625/1 of July 16, 2003, which states: ?Approval of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation should be obtained before external solicitors/advocates are hired and legal fees agreed upon by ministries and their parastatals/agencies for any service rendered.?

The agency also spent another N7,956,157.65 as payment for Life Assurance claims from overhead.

The report also indicted the management of FHA for irregular payment of N2,944,000 for social events, non-retirement of N10,505,000 cash advances, as well as for store items valued at N36,072,767 that were not taken on ledger charge.

The report noted that the management of FHA failed to respond to any of the queries.

For failing to respond to the queries, the management of the authority was directed to recover the said sums and remit them to the Treasury, providing evidence of such remittance to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly or face necessary sanctions.

The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) is a government agency responsible for providing affordable housing to citizens. It is responsible for developing and constructing housing estates and schemes across the country.

It is also vested with the responsibility of mortgage financing to enable individuals and families to own their homes. (Guardian)

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