Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the alleged criminal diversion of the $3.4 billion loan obtained from International Monetary Fund (IMF) by Nigeria to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

He made the call in a statement he signed on behalf of the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) on Sunday.

Falana also called on the IMF board to probe alleged deliberate refusal of its management to ensure that the emergency funds were ?used for their intended purposes?.

He further urged the IMF to suspend the collection of the scheduled charges, including net charges, basic interest, and administrative fees, amounting to SDR 125.99 million (N275.28 billion) pending the conclusion of its investigation.

Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed that Nigeria had fully repaid the $3.4 billion COVID-19 financial support it got under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI).

Although Nigeria?s principal balance stands at zero, but scheduled charges, including net charges, basic interest and administrative fees, amount to SDR 125.99 million. At the current exchange rate, this translates to approximately N275.28 billion.

?It is pertinent to recall that in the wake of the COVID-19 in 2030, Nigeria requested emergency assistance of about US$3.4 billion?equivalent to 100 percent of its quota from the International Monetary Fund to shore up the country?s economy and help businesses weather the storm of a deadly pandemic that disrupted global markets and plunged the world into a recession.

?At the meeting of the IMF Executive Board held on April 28, 2020, the financial support of $3.4 billion was approved to provide critical support to shore up Nigeria?s health care sector, and shield jobs and businesses from the shock of the COVID-19 crisis. In particular, the loan was designed to help alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp fall in oil prices, and also help limit the decline in international reserves,? Falana said.

?Following the executive board?s discussion of Nigeria, Mr. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, stated that, ?The emergency financing under the RFI will provide much needed liquidity support to respond to the urgent BOP needs. Additional assistance from development partners will be required to support the government?s efforts and close the large financing gap.

?The implementation of proper governance arrangements?including through the publication and independent audit of crisis-mitigating spending and procurement processes?is crucial to ensure emergency funds are used for their intended purposes (emphasis ours).

?Characteristically, the IMF management, which jointly manages the neocolonial economy of Nigeria with the Federal Government, failed to ensure emergency funds were used for their intended purposes,? he added.

A 2020 audit report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, released in January 2024, flagged several irregularities in the handling of the fund.

The report stated that on April 30, 2020, $2.4 billion of the loan was transferred to the CBN?s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, while the remaining balance went to the CBN?s account at the Bank of China, Shanghai.

The report further stated that by June 1, the $2.4 billion had been moved to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) for short-term investments. The funds in China were similarly transferred to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).

However, the senior lawyer said, ?These transactions, according to the audit, were not supported by documentation or approvals from the Federal Government or the CBN?s Investment Committee and that the funds were subsequently reclassified as part of the CBN?s external reserves rather than the Federal Government?s holdings. This reclassification, the report noted, allowed interest to be earned on the funds, contrary to The emergency spending purpose for which they were approved.

?Furthermore, the report stated that on August 7, 2020, the Federal Ministry of Finance requested the monetisation of $700 million to support the 2020 federal budget. One week later, the CBN approved a debit of N265.65 billion, applying an exchange rate of N379.5/$, higher than the official N360.5/$ rate at the time.

?The funds were credited to three separate accounts: N252 billion to the COVID-19 Public Sector Account, N13.3 billion to the Forex Equalisation Account, and N350 million to the Exchange Commission Account.

?The audit noted that a two percent commission was deducted from the monetised amount, even though the funds were categorised as Federal Government property. At the end of 2020, an unmonetised balance of $2.7 billion ? equivalent to approximately N1.02 trillion ? remained unaccounted for, according to the Auditor-General?s report.?

?The report recommended that the CBN Governor should explain the movement and classification of the funds without proper authorisation. It also requested bank statements to confirm the unmonetised balance and demanded the recovery of N13.3 billion and N350 million into the Federal Government?s account. It further called for the remittance of all interest earned from the investments and warned that sanctions under relevant financial regulations would be applied if there was no accountability,? he added.

According to Falana, the Auditor-General wants the money recovered and remitted to the public treasury and for the evidence of remittance to be forwarded to the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly.

He added that the Auditor-General also recommended that anyone suspected to be involved should be ?sanctioned and handed over to the EFCC and ICPC for investigation and prosecution, as provided for in paragraph 3112 of the Financial Regulations?.

He said, ?Even though the Auditor-General of the Federation submitted the 2020 Annual Report to to each House of the National Assembly, both Houses have failed to cause the report to be considered by the committees responsible for public accounts, in order to cover up the criminal diversion of the $3.4 IMF and several trillions of Naira set out in the Auditor-General?s report, in utter contravention of section 85(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

?In view of the foregoing, the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) hereby calls on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate the criminal diversion of the $3.4 billion loan obtained by Nigeria to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

?We also call on the IMF board to probe the deliberate refusal of its management to ensure that the emergency funds were used for their intended purposes. Meanwhile, the IMF should suspend the collection of the scheduled charges, including net charges, basic interest, and administrative fees, amounting to SDR 125.99 million (N275.28 billion), pending the conclusion of its investigation.? (Channels TV)

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