Culture of financial impunity gradually ending, says FRC boss

Barr. Victor Muruako, the Chairman, Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), says the culture of financial impunity in the country is gradually disappearing. Muruako made the remark while receiving the Nigerian Economics Students Association (NESA), University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in a courtesy visit and study tour to the Commission on Friday in Abuja. Muruako said the Commission which was set up by the Fiscal Responsibility Act No. 31 of 2007 and started operation in 2009, had recorded giant strides since its inception. “We have indeed made some landmark achievements from when we first began as a Commission to where we are today. “First and foremost, the culture of impunity is definitely disappearing. Although corruption cannot just evaporate like that, but you can see today that, unlike before, people are now being held accountable for whatever they do. “If you think you have gotten away with any wrongdoing, you might be surprised, what you have done will just appear on the social media and definitely one way or the other you must answer for it. “So, I can tell you that from that perspective, people are more responsible,” he said. He noted that in terms of budget implementation, the situation is far better than what used to obtain before now. “In the past, Mr President would just release his budget speech few days to the end of the year and that is it. “But now, with the Act and the Commission as well as our engagements with relevant stakeholders, including Ministry of Finance, the Budget Office and the National Assembly, we now have series of activities that carefully culminate in the federal appropriations act. “Examples include the engagements with Civil Society Groups, the alignment with the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, the public hearings that are carried out, and alot of other processes. “All these are definite steps towards planning in such a way that the budget is no more the way that it used to be. So, there are lots of gains in that area. “There must be careful planning because if you fail to plan, then you have already planned to fail,” he said. The FRC boss said that the Commission had also made alot of giant strides in the aspect of revenue generation. He explained that the ability of the Commission to come up with the template for the calculation of operating surplus which was quite acceptable, had really yielded alot of revenue. “Earnings to the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federal Government have greatly increased. I can tell you that year upon year, we have continued to improve in that area. “We have been working in collaboration with other stakeholders, particularly the National Assembly, the Office of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ministry of Finance and Accountant General of the Federation. “So, you check the quantum of remitances. For the first time ever, in 2021, the Independent Revenue of the Federal Government hit the trillion Naira mark. “This can obviously be traced to a lot of activities by the Commission – and we are still counting. “Also, our project verification exercise, which is based on the Budget Implementation Report (BIR) which we receive from the Budget office of the Federation is used to verify some of these projects and, in the process, we find our reports have greatly improved with regards to some of the Federal Government projects. “On, the issue of public debts, which is part of the challenge we face in the country, we have tried a lot in improving, through our monitoring exercises at the subnational level. “I can assure you that today, it won’t be easy for any government just to walk in and obtain loan just like before, without any checks and balances because the Fiscal Responsibility Act clearly outlines the conditions you must fulfil before you can borrow and on what terms and for what. “Yes, it is not yet uhuru and we still have some challenges along that line, but definitely, it is a work in progress,” he said. Speaking on the study tour of the Commission by UNN Economic Students, Barr Muruako remarked that there is a need to continue to embark on youth sensitization so as to help in instilling the culture of fiscal discipline in the lives of the leaders of tomorrow. He noted that the Commission had been embarking on sensitization programmes for quite sometime. “This is because one of the problems we identified with issues of instilling fiscal discipline in public officials is that it is very difficult to change adults, as bad habits die hard. “So, at the Commission, one of our key strategies is to reach out to the “leaders of tomorrow”; the public-officials-to-be. “We want to catch them young while they are still at that early stage and we started this by setting up what we call ‘Army of Fiscal Responsibility Enthusiasts’, ” he said. He added that the Commission had an understanding with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to transverse all the orientation camps across the country and carry out enlightenment and sensitization programmes. “We engage the Corp members and distribute our flyers and literatures so as to make them understand what we are doing. “We also explain to them on the need for them to buy into it because fighting corruption is not as simple as it may look. It is something that you have to deliberately plan for. “So, we continue these youth programmes in such a way that we have to reach out even to some educational institutions. “The essence is to put the students through with what we are doing here and explain to them in detail what it means to be fiscally responsible. “These students you are seeing today will obviously be in positions of responsibility tomorrow. They will be involved in the managing of public finance in the country, either in the private or public sector. “What they will learn will also help them even in personal finance management. “So, fiscal responsibility is not only

Salary Padding: Tinubu suspends IPPIS Assistant Director, others

President Bola Tinubu Suspends Assistant Director In Charge Of IPPIS, Others In OAGF For Salary Padding. Many civil servants across several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) have been suspended for alleged salary padding on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS). The allegation was confirmed by RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Bello Shehu, who said those identified had been placed on suspension pending investigation. The affected workers were found to have manipulated the IPPIS system to pad their salaries above their threshold. An Assistant Director at the OAGF in charge of staff salary was alleged to have connived with some staff to pad up the salaries of unspecified number of lower level staff. The scheme was discovered when a level 7 officer whose salary should be in the range of N60,000 was paid over N400,000, which was in the range of a salary package of a Director. The salary padding racket had been on for a while among a small clique of civil servants in different MDAs with the IPPIS office with the OAGF as the epicentre. Reacting to the development, the OAGF in a statement said it was, “in receipt of enquiries over alleged ‘salary padding’ on the IPPIS involving some unspecified MDAs.” “In the meantime, a staff suspected to be connected with the breach has been suspended to allow for thorough investigation. “All necessary steps are being taken to strengthen the controls around the IPPIS payment platform and an independent forensic audit of the entire payroll system is underway to ascertain if the reported breach is isolated or widespread,” Shehu said. He said if the indicted officials were found culpable of the salary padding allegations, they would be handed over to the appropriate authorities for prosecution.

Nigeria Air: HURIWA calls for Sirika’s arrest over alleged fraud

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called for the arrest of the immediate past Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, over what it described as the “fraudulent” Nigeria Air. This is contained in a statement signed by the group’s National Coordinator, Mr Emmanuel Onwubiko, and made available to newsmen in Owerri on Wednesday. HURIWA, a human rights advocacy group, said that the hurried unveiling of Nigeria Air by Sirika on May 26, the last official day of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, was suspicious. The group called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to swing into action and probe the former minister now that the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Aviation had separately declared that the project was a fraud. “The Interim Managing Director of Nigeria Air, Capt. Dapo Olumide, told legislators on Tuesday that the aircraft paraded as Nigeria Air plane belonged to Ethiopian Airlines and not Nigeria, whereas Sirika paraded the aircraft as being owned by Nigeria. “This is a fraud of the highest order and the lawmakers have labeled it so, including the suspension of all activities regarding the sham called national carrier. “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) must swing into action now that both the upper and lower chambers have declared the project as a fraud. The anti-graft agency must swiftly arrest, investigate and prosecute the ex-minister if found culpable. “There are a lot of questions that Sirika must be made to answer, including the whereabouts of the N85 billion splurged on the project. “In fact, aside that the so-called national carrier has not secured a single aircraft for its operations, it has also failed to secure Air Operating Certificate (AOC) from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) “, he said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Federal Government had in July 2018 unveiled the much-awaited new national carrier during the Farnborough Air Show in London. In eight years, the Buhari administration with Sirika as the arrowhead spent over N85 billion on Nigeria Air, as shown in data by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Compilation of Budgetary Allocations between 2016 and 2023. At separate meetings with the Interim Managing Director of Nigeria Air, Capt. Dapo Olumide, on Tuesday, the Chairman of the Senate Aviation Committee, Sen. Biodun Olujimi and the Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji, both agreed that the launch of Nigeria Air was a fraud. Olumide admitted that the Boeing 737-800 aircraft used to unveil the country’s national career was a legitimate chartered flight from Ethiopian Airlines. He said the aircraft returned to Ethiopian Airlines after the unveiling.

Compel EFCC, ICPC to probe Wike, applicants ask Court

A Federal High Court has been asked to compel the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) to probe the Rivers spending during the tenure of ex-Governor Nyesom Wike. The suit, filed by Sir Precious Elekima and a group, Incorporated Trustees of Peoples Life Improvement Foundation (PLIF), also urged the court to direct the Inspector-General of Police to step into the matter. In the suit marked: FHC/PH/CS/199/2023 filed on May 30 in the Port-Harcourt division of the court, the applicants averred that Wike allegedly diverted huge funds belonging to the state. Elekima and the PLIF said their resort to the court was a result of the alleged failure of the I-G, the EFCC and the ICPC to act on their petition dated May 23, 2023, which had since been submitted to them. Elekima and the PLIF want the court to among others, declare the 1st to 3rd respondents (the IGP, the EFCC, and the ICPC) have the statutory duties and powers to investigate their petition against Wike and some named bankers in Rivers “and to prosecute any of them found to have contravened any law within their respective statutory mandates.” They equally want the court to issue “an order of mandamus directing the 1st to 3rd respondents to investigate the criminal allegations made to them against the 4th to 16th respondents (Wike and the banks) in the said petition and prosecute them or any of them found culpable of the said criminal allegations.” Elekima and the PLIF claimed that they possess information and documents showing that huge funds were diverted from the Rivers’ coffers during Wike’s tenure. They stated that in the course of their official activities, they became aware and have reason to reasonably suspect and believe that the 4th respondent in his capacity as governor, fraudulently withdraw N117 billion belonging to the Rivers Government. This, they said, is in excess of the threshold permitted by extant laws and financial regulations with intent to misappropriate and divert same and did, in fact, divert same for his personal benefit.” Elekima and the PLIF added that they “reasonably suspect that the 4th respondent, in conspiracy with other officials of the Government of Rivers State and 5th to 16th respondents fraudulently withdrew, laundered and embezzled huge funds from the Rivers State internally generated revenue collected and domiciled in several accounts with the 5th to 16th respondents.” They alleged that they “reasonably suspect that the 4th respondent also diverted and fraudulently misappropriated huge public funds belonging to the Government and people of Rivers State to his private use. Filed along with the suit for judicial review, is a motion ex-parte in which they are seeking leave to apply for an order of mandamus and for service of originating summons on the 1st to 3rd respondents in Abuja. Rivers banks listed in the suit are: Access Bank, Ecobank, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Fidelity, Guaranty Trust, Unity Bank, Union Bank, Wema, Zenith, First Bank and Heritage Bank.

I’m 12% poorer since I assumed office, says Makinde

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has said he is poorer by 12 percent in the last four years as governor of the state. Makinde made this known on Sunday while speaking with newsmen in Ibadan. He told them that he submitted his Asset Declaration form at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) office, situated on State Secretariat, Total Garden Road, on Friday in Ibadan. Makinde, on assumption of office in 2019, had declared N48 billion worth of assets. He, however, did not reveal the details of his assets but told newsmen that in due time it will all be revealed to the public. In compliance with Paragraph 11 Part 1 to the fifth schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a governor is mandated to declare his assets at the end of the first tenure. “By law, I have to do a Declaration of Assets at the end of my first tenure and before assuming office for the next tenure. “So, I have gone to CCB office to submit my Assets Declaration form at the end of my first tenure and also my assets at the beginning of the second tenure. “You are all aware of my Assets Declaration for the first tenure. “I can tell you that in the last four years, I’m poorer by 10 to 12 percent. “This is because, I have not really have the chance to look after my business. “We have been looking after Oyo State business; so, I’m not surprised that there were losses a bit here and there, but I’m still okay,” Makinde said. Makinde’s Deputy, Chief Bayo Lawal, also went with the governor to submit his own Assets Declaration form. Meanwhile, the inauguration of Makinde as the Chief Executive Governor for the second term will come up on Monday at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Oke-Ado, Ibadan.

2023 Budget: We’ve nothing to hide, NDDC tells NASS

Following concerns by the lawmakers in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly over the budget of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Commission has told the Senate it has nothing to hide. The Senate, on Wednesday, May 10 at its session, constituted an ad hoc committee to probe the financial activities of the NDDC for 2021 and 2022 Budget estimates.  The Senate also stood down consideration of the 2023 Budget of the NDDC for further clarification on the figures contained in the budget. While appreciating the concerns raised by the Senate, the NDDC, in a statement by its Director, Corporate Affairs, Dr. Ibitoye Abosede, said that the Commission would continue to respect its oversight functions. The NDDC said that it was ready to cooperate with the investigative committee insisting that it was committed to transparency and accountability in its operations. “It is important that we clarify that the Senate has not accused the Board and Management of the NDDC of corruption or misappropriation of N1.4 trillion. “The Senate only thinks that the funds were expended without approval or appropriation by the National Assembly. This misunderstanding can be quickly resolved by providing the necessary documents and explanations. “The NDDC also wishes to explain that the delays in submitting its budgets and audited accounts to the National Assembly were due to factors beyond its control, such as bureaucratic bottlenecks and frequent leadership changes.  “The Commission has, however, taken steps to address these issues to ensure timely compliance with all statutory requirements. “We appeal to the general public to refrain from making hasty judgments based on the Senate’s decision. The NDDC assures all stakeholders of its dedication to the development of the Niger Delta region and the welfare of its people,” the Commission said.