Tag Archives: Auditor General

Auditor-General uncovers N2bn fraud in National Assembly

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The office Auditor-General of the Federation has revealed a N2 billion financial scandal in the National Assembly expenditure.

The AGF’s annual report said the illegalities were perpetrated in 13 transactions.

The transactions involved both chambers of the National Assembly, the Management as well as the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC), and the National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS).

See breakdown below:

HOUSE OF REPS

The report said House incurred the highest infraction of N1.1 billon followed by Management, N347.8 million; NILS, N246.5 milliion; the Senate N205.7 million; legislative aides N70 million and NASC,N30 million.

The Auditor-General observed that contracts for the purchase of 48 Units of Utility Vehicles were awarded to three contractors at N624 million, Daily Trust reports.

The report stated that, “records however showed that the supply of 14 Units of these motor vehicles were not made.

“The Clerk has been informed and has been requested to recover monies paid for the outstanding 14 vehicles and forward the recovery particulars for audit verification.”

The Auditor-General said 50 cash advances amounting to N499.6 million were granted to staff to carry out various assignments.

“However, as at the time of writing this report in August, 2016, more than a year after, the advances are yet to be retired.

“Some of the vouchers were granted multiple advances without retiring the previous ones in violation of the Financial Regulations which provides that no new advance should be granted, if the previous ones had not been retired” it stated.

The report said that the Clerk of the National Assembly had been requested to recover the advances from the affected officers and furnish the Auditor-General with the recovery particulars for audit verification.

SENATE

The Auditor-General’s report said N186million meant for the payment of Motor Vehicle Loan which was paid into a Commercial Bank Account as indicated in the mandate was misapplied for other purposes such as organizing Senate Retreat and Pre-Valedictory Session of the 7th Senate.

This action, according to the report, violates the provision of Financial Regulations 417 which states that, “Votes must be applied only to the purpose for which money is provided. Expenditure incorrectly charged to a Vote shall be disallowed”

The Clerk of the National Assembly has been notified and requested to explain reasons for the Violation of extant rule. He was also asked to recover the fund and forward the particulars for audit verification.

Also Bank Charges amounting to N15.9 million were charged for the period July to December, 2015.

“This is contrary to the provisions of e-Payment Circular Ref no. TRY/A8/88/2008 which requires that individual benefits and claims should be effected through their personal Bank accounts. Financial Regulations 734 also provides that ‘’ No Government Organization or Agency shall place government funds in any Commercial Bank that will charge any commission on transactions “.

The Clerk has been asked to recover the amount and furnish the Auditor-General with the recovery particulars for audit verification.

In the Management accounts, the Auditor-General said the personnel Account was overdrawn in two instances, and this attracted a penalty amounting to N8.8 million in violation of the provisions of Financial Regulations 710 which states that “No Government Bank Account shall be overdrawn or any temporary advance obtained from a bank and any bank charges incurred shall be recovered from the Accounting officer.”

The Clerk has been requested to pay back the money and furnish the Auditor-General with the payment particulars for audit verification.

It also observed that account payment vouchers amounting to N115.9 million paid by the Management within the first 6 (Six) months of the financial year 2015, were not produced for audit examination.

It was further observed that Cash Advances totalling N158million granted to members of staff in 17 instances between the months of January and June 2015 are yet to be retired at the time of writing this report in the month of August 2016, (more than a year after payments) in flagrant disregard of extant regulations which stipulate that all advances should be retired/accounted for, immediately after the completion of the assignment for which funds were granted.

The Clerk has been communicated that the defaulters should be sanctioned in line with the provision of Financial Regulation.

During the Audit of National Assembly Budget & Research Office (NABRO) account, financial scandal of N66million was observed. It said there was Vital/relevant supporting documents.

The Audit of the Personnel Accounts of the Legislative Aides revealed that a total sum of N78.5million was expended on the payment of Overtime/Special Allowances to officials who are not Legislative Aides, in the months of November and December 2015.

“This payment found to be irregular has been brought to the attention of the Clerk of the National Assembly. He should produce the enabling authority, otherwise he should return the sum of N70, 560,000.00 to Government Treasury and furnish Auditor-General with the recovery particulars for verification,” the report stated.

NASS SERVICE COMMISSION

An amount totalling N17million was deducted from four months’ salaries by the commission in the year 2015 as PAYE (Pay As You Earn) and claimed to have been remitted to the Federal inland Revenue Services without any evidence of payment to FIRS.

“If evidence cannot be produced, then they said amount should be recovered and paid back to FlRS (and) furnish the Auditor-General with payment particulars for verification.”

NILS

The report observed that despite the prohibition of payments by cheque by the Federal government, except in extreme cases, the institute used cheque to make payment for transactions amounting to N246 million.

This act, according to the report contravenes the provisions of Financial Regulation 631 which says all payment shall be made through electronic payment.

 

Source:

National Assembly: Auditor-General uncovers N2bn fraud [See Breakdown]

BREAKING: Nigerian Senate confirms Anthony Mkpe as Auditor-General

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The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday confirmed the nomination of Mr. Ayine Anthony Mkpe as the Auditor-General of the Federation.

 

This was even as the Senate confirmed the receipt of petitions against the nominee with some Senators also standing on his way of confirmation.

 

The Senate had at its plenary session on Wednesday, 14th December, 2016 considered the request of President Muhammadu Buhari for the confirmation of the appointment of Mr. Ayine Anthony Mkpe to take over the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation.

 

Consequently, the Senate, after careful deliberations referred the request to the Public Accounts Committee, for further legislative action.

 

Presenting the report of the committee at the Wednesday’s plenary, the Chairman, Senator Andy Uba said, “The committee examined his educational qualifications, career progression, experience, character, Federal Character principles, understanding of the functions of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation, etc”.

 

Details soon…

Buhari writes Senate over confirmation of Anyene as Auditor-General

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President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the Senate seeking the  confirmation of Anthony Anyene as Auditor General of the Federation.

 

Senate President Bukola Saraki on Tuesday read the letter during plenary.

 

Buhari in the letter said the Federal Civil Service Commission recommended Anyene for the position.

 

Details later…

2016 Appropriation Bill Was Not Predicated On Zero-based Budgeting- Auditor-General

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The 2016 budget was not predicated on the zero-based budgeting system as widely claimed by the federal government and Ministry of Budget and National Planning, the Auditor-General of the Federation (AuGF), Samuel Ukura, shockingly disclosed yesterday.

Ukura, who made this disclosure while defending the budget of his office before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, admitted that though the federal government had chosen zero-based budgeting as the template for the 2016 budget, it was later forced to jettison it because the reality on ground did not favour its implementation.

However, the auditor-general’s claim was dismissed last night by officials of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, who said Ukura did not know what he was talking about and wondered how he could have made the assertion given that he does not work in the Budget Office of the Federation.

Disclosing that the federal government was forced to return to the traditional envelope system, Ukura said the N2.9 billion budgeted for his office this year, just like other proposals in the 2016 budget, was drawn up using the envelope system previously used by the Ministry of Finance.

“The budgets of all ministries, departments and agencies of government this year are all enveloped-based and not zero-based as has been the case over the years, including that of my office, which was even largely done for us by the supervising ministry (budget and national planning ministry),” Ukura, who by virtue of his office is independent and reports directly to the president, said.

His disclosure shocked the committee and compelled Senators Akpan Bassey (Akwa Ibom, North-east) and Foster Ogola (Bayelsa, West) to remind Ukura how his revelation contradicted the submission before the joint session of the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari on December 22, 2015 while presenting the budget.

But Ukura insisted that the zero-based budgeting system was dropped from the outset and proceeded to throw more light on the intricacies on the zero-based budgeting process.

Credit: Thisday

Jonathan Has “Great Interest” In NNPC Audit Report- Auditor General

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The Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF), Samuel Ukura, on Tuesday blamed the inability of his office to publish the report of the forensic audit on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) over the missing $20 billion oil fund on presidential interest.

He said the the Goodluck Jonathan presidency had far more special interest in the matter than his own office and the auditors. Several months after PriceWaterhouseCoopers Limited completed investigations into the allegation of unremitted oil revenues, the report was not released to the public despite demands by Nigerians.

On Sunday, April 27, President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, had threatened that his administration would probe the allegations on assumption of office. Apparently reacting to Mr. Buhari’s threat, President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday ordered immediate release of the report to Nigerians.

Presidential spokesperson, Reuben Abati, said the decision to release of the full report was to demonstrate that the present administration had nothing to hide over the matter. But in a response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by PREMIUM TIMES, the AuGF blamed the long delay by his office in releasing the full audit report on the Presidency.

In response to this newspaper’s request for the document, days before the presidency released it, Mr. Ukura said he was not in a position to release the report because the presidency has “great interest” in the information contained therein. “After a careful review of the information, it is my considered opinion that the Presidency has a great interest in the information,” the auditor general said through his representative, Uche Okafor-Agbi.

He therefore advised PREMIUM TIMES to redirect its request for the report to the presidency which had custody of the document. “You may wish to channel your application accordingly,” Mr. Ukura said.

Mr. Ukura’s letter to PREMIUM TIMES was apparently dispatched hours before the presidency released the audit report but it arrived this newspaper’s office hours after the document had been made public.

Although the Constitution does not provide for the AuGF to submit audit reports to any arm of the executive, but to the National Assembly, Mr. Ukura, on February 5, presented highlights of the report, on the orders of the president.

Apparently deferring to the presidency, he failed to forward the report to the National Assembly as demanded by the Constitution.

The highlights had indicted the management of NNPC, demanding the refund of $1.48 billion by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NNPC upstream subsidiary, for various unreconciled transactions.

In his letter to PREMIUM TIMES, the auditor-general said under the Federal Civil Service Rules, the audit report was carried out by PwC as an assurance engagement in which the reporting channel was duly spelt out in the international auditing standard.

Under the circumstance, he said neither his office nor the auditing firm had greater interest in releasing the information in accordance with the FOI Act 2011.

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