The Senate has charged the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation with failing to refund short-term loans totaling N910 billion made to federal government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, from Special Funds Accounts.
This was despite the fact that the Red Chamber ordered that the Accountant General recover all outstanding loans and present evidence of recovery to the Auditor General for the Federation, AuGF, and Senate Public Accounts Committee, SPAC, within 60 days.
The indictment followed an investigation conducted by the SPAC, chaired by Senator Mathew Urhoghide, in response to the submission of a 2017 report by the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation, OAuGF.
According to the OAuGF inquiry, loans and debts arising from Special Funds Accounts totaling N910,039,557,742 remained unpaid throughout the fiscal year under review, despite the fact that they were intended to be short-term.
But the OAuGF, in its response, claimed that several letters have been written to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning to authorize the settlement of the loans granted against allocations of various MDAs affected.
The request to include the loans repayment in the 2017 budget, it added, had been forwarded to the minister’s office.
However, the Senate panel said it observed continuous abuse of the Special Funds by the Executive as the withdrawals are continually made for political expediency outside the purpose for which the funds were meant.
“There is continuous abuse of the Special Funds by the Executive as the withdrawals are continually made for political expediency outside the purpose which the funds were meant,” the report stated.
Meanwhile, Senate has directed the Executive Chairman of Imo state Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB to account for N482million paid to companies that were not financially capable contrary to requirement of extant rules
Chairman of the board failed to appear before the committee to defend the allegation of payment without due process.