Probe N3.14b missing in Finance Ministry and another N105b missing in MDAs, says SERAP
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has put Muhammadu Buhari’s feet back to the fire asking him to probe N3.14 billion officially declared missing in the Finance Ministry headed by Zainab Ahmed, his tax enforcer.
The missing billions is documented in the 2018 and 2019 annual audited reports by federal Auditor General Adolphus Aghughu.
The latest revelation comes after the first set of the reports earlier in the year had shown that N105,662,350,077.46 of public funds is missing, misappropriated or unaccounted for across 149 ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
SERAP sued Buhari to court in August to compel him to recover the missing N105.66b from the thieves in the MDAs instead of borrowing money and taxing Nigerians dry to pay for loans.
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Cesspit of corruption
Nigeria’s debt climbed to $92.62 billion in the third quarter of the year ended September 2021 (Q3, 2021), according to the Debt Management Officer (DMO).
That was before lawmakers approved two weeks ago for Buhari to obtain new loans worth $5.8 billion plus a $10 million grant from Germany.
Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) Director Modibbo Tukur repeated in November that Nigeria owes so much debt partly because companies failed to remit N7 trillion in Value Added Tax (VAT) and Withholding Tax between 2010 and 2020.
He stressed that tax avoidance limits government’s revenue and helps fuel massive borrowing.
But what Tukur left unsaid, and a fact Buhari himself also ignores, is that
- Buhari encourages tax evasion by willingly neglecting to prosecute big or influential tax dodgers – rooted in the culture of criminals bribing public officials to break the law and escape punishment.
- Buhari willingly fails to prosecute public officials, including his Ministers, who steal public funds indirectly by inflating contracts, collecting bribe; or directly by grabbing hard cash from the treasury.
Up to 257 projects worth N20.138 billion are duplicated in the 2021 budget alone, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Chairman, Bolaji Owasanoye, disclosed in Abuja in November.
Such sums are siphoned into private pockets through various forms and layers of financial corruption in the public service.
The ICPC is also probing heads of MDAs and other officials who engage in project racketeering, budget, and payroll padding and keep “ghost workers” whose salaries they collect.
Economic and Finance Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, announced on December 12 that a Governor in one of the North Central states – of Nasarawa, Niger, Kwara, Kogi, Benue, Plateau – withdrew over N60 billion in cash from state coffers in the past six years.
That is, one single Governor has been stealing over N10 billion each year for six years from the treasury of a state in one of the poorest regions of Nigeria.
Bawa did not name the thieving Governor he fingered in EFCC Alert, the in-house magazine of the agency.
Five of the six states in the North Central are ruled by Buhari’s All Progressives Alliance (APC). Only Benue is ruled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Female minister caught with stolen $37.5 public funds
Bawa disclosed on Channel Television on June 15 that a female minister bought a $37.5 million property with the “proceeds of … crime” and deposited $20 million in cash.
He said: “We investigated a matter in which a bank Managing Director (MD) marketed a property to a minister who agreed to purchase it at $37.5 million.
“The bank then sent a vehicle to her house to evacuate $20 million from her house in the first instance.
“The bank succeeded to put it in their system and paid the developer and then a lawyer set up a special purpose vehicle where the title documents were transferred into and of course, he is posing as the owner of the house.
“Without the help of the banker, the minister couldn’t have imagined collecting $20 million from anyone with opportunity from the real sector; she could not have thought of where to launder the proceeds of the crime.”
That day, Bawa did not name the female minister but Nigerians believe she is in Buhari’s cabinet. Bawa immediately came under public pressure to name the thief, and privately under heat from the Northern cabal protecting their quarry.
Two days later, on June 17, he said at a press conference hurriedly organised by the Presidential Communications Committee in Aso Rock that he was referring to Diezani Alison-Madueke.
Diezani was Petroleum Minister in the administration of former Goodluck Jonathan and Nigerians already knew she stole millions of dollars during her tenure
Diezani’s embezzlement was global public knowledge long before Buhari became President on May 29, 2015 and before he appointed Bawa anti-graft Czar on February 24, 2021.
Bawa simply diverted attention to Diezani at the behest of the Northern clique because of public speculation that the “female minister” he said was caught with stolen $37.5 million was Ahmed.
There are yet more Nigerian treasury looters named in the Pandora Papers published by PREMIUM TIMES this year in collaboration with global media outlets.
The EFCC has not prosecuted these criminals and most others before them.
Allegations of corruption are also swirling around Malami, Buhari’s chief law officer who is supposed to prosecute law breakers.
The Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) has publicly accused him of “working for contractors” to take his cut.
Last month, Malami withdrew from the EFCC the case file against Senator Stella Oduah (APC, Anambra North) and others over alleged N7.9 billion corruption after she and her co-defendants petitioned Malami claiming they were being persecuted.
Nothing has been heard of the case ever since.
Oduah defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC in August. She is also named in the Pandora Papers in another corruption allegation.
Ahmed, whose ministry Aghughu reported as failing to account for N3.14 billion, is Buhari’s tax enforcer who has insisted that taxes must rise as revenue falls, even if Nigerians are getting poorer because of her failings coupled with those of Buhari.
SERAP writes Buhari to recover funds stolen by his officials
SERAP urged Buhari to “use his good offices to direct” federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Abubakar Malami “and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to investigate allegations that over N3 billion of public funds are missing, mismanaged or diverted from the Federal Ministry of Finance.”
The appeal is contained in a letter written to Buhari dated December 24, 2021, signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, per reporting by Vanguard.
“Anyone suspected to be responsible should face prosecution as appropriate, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, and any missing public funds should be fully recovered,” the letter added.
“The reports suggest a grave violation of the public trust. As trustee of public funds, the Ministry of Finance ought to ensure strict compliance with transparency and accountability rules and regulations.
“As a key agency of government, the Ministry has a sacred duty to ensure transparency and accountability in the spending of the country’s resources. This implies providing strong leadership in the efforts to curb public sector corruption.
“This leadership is important for the Ministry to enjoy the public trust and confidence essential for its effectiveness and impact.
“The allegations that N3,143,718,976.47 of public funds are missing will also clearly amount to a fundamental breach of national anticorruption laws and the country’s international anticorruption obligations including under the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party.
“Investigating and prosecuting the allegations, and recovering any missing public funds would improve the chances of success of your government’s oft-repeated commitment to fight corruption and end the impunity of perpetrators. It will also serve the public interest.”
Auditor general’s report
“According to the report of the Auditor-General for 2018, the Ministry of Finance spent N24,708,090.00 on pre-retirement training but without any document.
“The consultant hired also failed to quote any price as cost of the training but the Ministry paid N5,670,060.00 to the consultant.
“Request for payment from the consultant was dated 20 January 2017 while the first payment voucher in his favour was dated 13 January 2017 (7 days before his request).
“The Ministry also reportedly failed to account for N2,885,772,493.27 released to the Ministry from the Service Wide Vote to take care of estacodes and other allowances for representing the Federal Government in meetings, and contribution to Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
“The money was spent without approval, and any documents. The Auditor-General is concerned that the money may have been mismanaged.
“The Ministry also reportedly awarded a contract on 17th May 2017 for N98,540,500.00 without any document, contrary to the Public Procurement Act.
The project was not also budgeted for. There was no evidence of performance of the contract. The Ministry also deducted N9,354,809.52 as WHT and VAT but without any evidence of remittance.
“The Auditor-General wants the money recovered.
“The Ministry also reportedly spent N98,759,299.20 between January-December 2017 without any document, contrary to Financial Regulation 601.
“According to the 2019 report of the Auditor-General, the Ministry paid N20,466,744.00 as cash advances to staff of ‘You-Win’ between 8 February and 18 December, 2018 but the Ministry has failed to retire the money.
“The advances were granted for the purchase of store items, repairs and other services that would have been made through the award of contract.
“Government lost N2,046,674.40 which would have accrued as taxes had these jobs been undertaken through award of contracts.
“The Auditor-General wants the money recovered.
“The Ministry also reportedly paid N15,471,850.00 to two consultants for capacity building in Kano and Adamawa States but without any supporting document, contrary to paragraph 603 (1) of the Financial Regulations.
“The Auditor-General is concerned that the money may have been diverted, and wants it recovered.”
Citizens feel consequences of corruption
“SERAP notes that the consequences of corruption are felt by citizens on a daily basis. Corruption exposes them to additional costs, and undermines economic development of the country, trapping the majority of Nigerians in poverty and depriving them of employment opportunities.
“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 14 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter.
“If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.”
Others officials who received copies of the letter
The letter was copied to
- Malami
- Owasanoye
- Bawa
- Ahmed
- Senate Public Accounts Committee Chairman
- House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee Chairman