Six years ago, Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs
Diezani Alison- Madueke in surreptitious escape, left the shores of
Nigeria in a manner that looks like it was a normal overseas travel. THE RESTORATION OF BIAFRA NATION
She ran away immediately former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan lost election.
The conscience stricken Diezani ran away to escape justice in Nigeria
over allegations that she looted the NNPC she superintended over during
Jonathan’s administration.
With her suspicious escape, the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) opened an investigation into circumstances surrounding
her alleged shady deals in the country’s apex oil giant.
And it didn’t take a long time before the commission’s former
Chairman, Ibrahim Magu announced that the EFCC had uncovered humongous
amount of money allegedly carted away by the former minister.
However, and before the exit of the administration of former
President Jonathan, the erstwhile Minister was invited by the Senate
Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) and (Upstream) to explain
some financial conundrums observed at the time.
Regrettably, the then Senator David Mark led 7th Senate was on the
same page with the government of the day and whatever financial
infractions noticed against Deziani was quickly covered up.
Close door session in parliamentary setting is a right of lawmakers
in the upper and lower legislative Chambers to discuss issues away from
the prying eyes of Journalists and the public particularly if the case
in issue, if exposed is considered injurious to the national security.
But often times, the close door doctrine in Nigeria Parliament is
used by lawmakers to negotiate personal interest rather than public
interest.
Arguable as this view is, it beggars a peep as to why Nigeria
continue to lose billions to public officers despite supposed
parliamentary scrutiny.
Given statutory legal provisions, the National Assembly can
investigate the NNPC (an agency of government) via the following Senate
Committees viz: (1) Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream);
(2) Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream); (3) Senate
Committee on Gas Resources (4) Senate Committee on Finance (5) Senate
Committee on Public Accounts which is usually headed by an opposition
lawmakers to checkmate activities of possible compromise by the ruling
party; and (6) the Senate leadership through a resolution can set up an
ad-hoc Committee for purposes of investigation can be set up in the
lower and upper Chambers depending on its exigency.
However, six years following the lawmakers charade of investigating
the embattled minister, the EFCC Chairman disclosed that the Commission
recovered $153 million and 83 houses worth billions of naira from former
Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
The question begging for answer is how did the scandalous fraud
escape the attention of the upper and lower chambers of the national
assembly.
In fact, concerns in some quarters have suggested that the parliament is not without shady cloud around it, on this matter.
In as much as the anti-graft agency deserves commendation for
uncovering the monumental fraud, one shouldn’t be oblivious of more
‘Diezanis’, who are in fact terrible, surly and mean, and daily milking
the nation hollow while taking advantage of a weak system.
It’s incontrovertible, though, to posit that there area many factors
responsible for the large scale fraud, ‘authority-stealing’ and
salami-slice in public offices.
A conspicuous element in this matrix is what is called ‘operating surpluses’.
There are well over 700 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Nigeria including revenue generating agencies.
The operating surpluses allow Heads of agencies to spend revenue
generated up to 25% and remit 75% into the Federal Government’s
Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) domiciled with the Central Bank of
Nigeria.
Unfortunately, Heads of agencies of government have flagrantly abused this privilege.
Little wonder that recently, Senator Solomon Adeola Olamilekan, the
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance and who is thee lawmaker
representing Lagos West Senatorial District revealed, penultimate week,
that the Federal Government of Nigeria has lost over N3 trillion revenue
between 2014-2020 to Heads of 60 government agencies.
The Committee which has been investigating activities of government’s
owned agencies in the last one month discovered frivolous expenditures
that were contrary to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic and
the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), 2007.
It was also discovered that ministries, Departments and Agencies of
government were substantially not remitting 1% Stamp Duty on all
contract awards by the MDAs between 2014-2020.
Piqued by the development, Olamilekan, who is a Chartered Accountant
invited the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs
Zainab Ahmed, the Director General of Budget Office, Ben Akabueze and
the Accountant General of the Federation, Idris Ahmed where they were
briefed on the rot going on in government circles.
The lawmaker expressed deep concern the more as the law requires all
monies to be paid through the Single Treasury Account (TSA) into the
Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) in the Central Bank which regrettably,
some agencies still maintain accounts with Commercial Banks so as to
have access to government finances.
Some of these agencies have also relied on government circulars
issued by Permanent Secretaries above the 1999 Constitution as amended
and Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007.
The world over, it’s only in Nigeria that circulars of Permanent
Secretaries who are administrative Heads of government agencies are
superior to the nation’s grundnorm – the Constitution and the Acts of
Parliament.
The Olamilekan led Committee investigating the activities of these
agencies also uncovered undisclosed millions of naira which Heads of
agencies paid into the treasury with evidence of receipts for such
payment issued to them by the office of the Accountant General of the
Federation.
However, and in the light of the discovery, the committee was
cautiously optimistic that the new development would help solve the ugly
situation already on ground, and further assist in recouping lost
revenues that would substantially finance the 2021 budget.
According to the Senate panel, “there is no gainsaying the fact that
if these revenues are paid to the CRF for proper appropriation by the
Parliament during budget considerations, we are going to reduce
dramatically the size of our deficit and hopefully minimize our
borrowing.
We cannot continue to run government business as we used to do in
this time when there are huge demands for government to fund needed
infrastructure and other socio-economic programmes.”
Senator Adeola further revealed that the investigation has also led
to the willing exit of some agencies, notably among them NAFDAC,
NIGCOMSAT, NOTAP and NEREC, from the budget of the government.
He added that they now rely on their generated revenue to fund aspects of their operations.
This, the committee explained, will reduce their dependence on federation budget and assist in reducing budget deficits.
Flowing from these, it is convenient to state that the situation has
been an absurdity on government finances, as agencies which are funded
by government’s annual budgets, also deduct operating surpluses from
revenues they generate.
An observation of proceedings of Public Accounts currently Headed by
Senator Mathew Uroghide further reveal series of queries by the Office
of the Auditor General for Federation (oAGF).
Sad as it is, the clerk of the Senate Committee on Public Account has
refused curious journalists monitoring proceedings at the committee
from accessing documents that would have shed more light on the
shenanigans going in the affected agencies.
Such resistance by the Committee no doubt creates a cloud of
conspiracy and complicity, and also raises questions such as, despite
the open show of scrutinizing the account of the agencies, no doubt for
the television cameras, is the Senate committee given Heads of the
affected agencies, the Deziani treatment introduced by the Senator David
Mark’s 7th Senate.
Who knows, but given the precedent laid by the 7th National Assembly,
the EFCC under Bawa, may like his predecessor, Magu, uncover evidence
of humongous sleaze against these agencies.
Sleazes that escaped the supposedly ‘eagle’ eye of the Senator Adeola led committee.
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