AGENCIES SQUANDER N8.8 TRILLION IN THREE YEARS

                                                                                   

A recent report reveals that the N8.8 trillion generated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and 57 other government owned agencies between 2009 and 2011 was not remitted into Federal Government’s vault. The report of the investigation by the House Committee on Finance that was conducted on “Independent Revenue Generation and Remittances to the Consolidated Revenue Fund by Government-Owned Agencies” that was considered and passed during Thursday’s plenary, also indicted the following agencies: Federal Airport Authority (FAAN), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Capital Territory (FCT), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FBMN), Bank of Industry (BOI), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA), Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), National Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) etc.

The report also reveals that the sum of N3.06 trillion realized by the 60 government-owned agencies in 2009, only N46.8 billion was remitted to the treasury, while the sum of N3.07 trillion realized in 2010, only N54.01 billion was remitted. Also, the sum of 3.17 trillion realized in 2011, only N73.8 billion was remitted. NNPC and its subsidies which generated N6.132 trillion did not remit a kobo to government’s treasury within the period under review. The Federal Inland Revenue Service was also involved in the rot as it presented ambiguous accounting figures for its revenue in 2009 to the committee during the investigation. Though, the apex revenue body declared N5.6 million for 2009, another sum of N323 million was discovered during the review of the audited account. Mr. Abdulmumin Jubrins, the Chairman of the committee, frowned at the non-compliance to the laws and the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), stating that most of the reviewed agencies were found culpable of inadequately remitting revenues to the treasury and preparing different sets of accounts.