OFFICE of Nigeria’s Auditor-General of the Federation (OAGF) has revealed violation of procurement laws and uncovered contract fraud amounting to N197.72 billion in Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and other ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government.
It also uncovered procurement breaches in the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) and the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company – a subsidiary of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
The details of the findings were disclosed in the Auditor-General’s Annual Report on Non-Compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses, covering activities from
2020 and 2021.
These violations include irregular payment for contracts and payment for jobs partially executed or not executed at all, which contravene the country’s financial regulations and procurement laws.
Accordingly, the Office discovered N7.386 billion as fraud in contract awards by 32 MDAs.
REA topped the chart with N2.12 billion while NSPM recorded the least with N11.7 million.
The ICIR reports that the REA director of human resources management, Suleiman Garba Bulkwang, was recently arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission before the Federal High Court in Abuja over a five-count charge of alleged fraud and money laundering amounting to N223 million (N223,412,909)
The EFCC accused Bulkwang of diverting public funds and engaging in money laundering through consultants and shell companies in violation of procurement laws.
“The sum of N7,386,551,051.09 (seven billion, three hundred and eighty-six million, five hundred and fifty-one thousand, fifty-one naira, nine kobos) was the number of irregularities in the award of contracts by 32 ministries, departments and agencies.
“The Rural Electrification Agency, Abuja, has the highest amount of N2,117,143,168.09 (two billion, one hundred and seventeen million, one hundred and three thousand, one hundred and sixty-eight naira, nine kobo), while the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc (NSPM) has the least amount of N11,720,000 (Eleven million, seven hundred and twenty thousand,” the Auditor-General’s report indicated.
The ICIR earlier in the year reported that the 2020 Audit report published by the Auditor General of the Federation had similarly accused 101 federal government ministries and institutions of unaccounted funds totalling N149.36 billion.
The audit report complies with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Section 85(5) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (as amended), states that “the Auditor-General shall, within ninety days of receipt of the accountant general’s financial statement, submit his reports under this section to each House of the National Assembly and each House shall cause the reports to be considered by a committee of the House of the National Assembly responsible for public accounts.”
Further revelation in the latest report showed that N167.59 billion was paid for jobs or contracts that were either partially executed or not executed at all. This contravenes Paragraph 708 of the Financial Regulations, which prohibits payments for services or goods not yet delivered.
In this aspect, the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, an agency in the country’s power sector, accounted for N100 billion of these irregular payments, making it the highest in this category. Meanwhile, the National Centre for Women Development recorded the lowest irregularity at N2.17 million.
The report read, “The sum of N167,592,177,559.40 (one hundred and sixty-seven billion, five hundred and ninety-two million, one hundred and seventy-seven thousand, five hundred and fifty-nine naira, forty kobos) was the number of payments for jobs/contracts not executed by 31 ministries, departments and agencies.
“The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc., Abuja, has the highest amount of N100,000,000,000.00 (one hundred billion naira), while the National Centre for Women Development has the least amount of N2,171,766.44 (two million, one hundred and seventy-one thousand, seven hundred and sixty-six naira, forty-four kobo).”
Similarly, the report also uncovered violations of due process in contract awards amounting to N20.33 billion across 24 MDAs.
The violations are against Section 16(21) of the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007 which requires strict adherence to procurement plans and mandatory approvals before contract awards. Meanwhile, the audit report found that these requirements were often ignored or violated. The report showed that NSPM, a subsidiary of CBN was responsible for the highest amount of due process violations, totalling N14.14 billion, while the Corporate Affairs Commission had the least, at N8.98 million.
“The sum of N20,334,104,016.27 (twenty billion, three hundred and thirty-four million, one hundred and four thousand, sixteen nairas, twenty-seven kobo) was the number of contracts awarded in violation of due process by 24 ministries, departments and agencies.
“The Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc Abuja has the highest amount of N14,136,472,333.16 (fourteen billion, one hundred and thirty-six million, four hundred and seventy-two thousand, three hundred and thirty-three naira, sixteen kobos) while the Corporate Affairs Commission has the least amount of N8,980,603.72 (eight million, nine hundred and eighty thousand, six hundred and three naira, seventy-two kobo),” it added.
There have been violations and concerns over public sector accountability, with The ICIR always highlighting financial infractions by MDAs in its various reports.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.