Corruption: CBN, CAC, NBET, NSPMC, others indicted in N197.72bn contract scams ─Report

*The Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation’s Annual Report on Non-Compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses reveals irregular payments of about N197.72 billion taxpayers’ money for shoddy contracts in some Ministries, Departments and Agencies in violation of financial regulations and procurement laws in Nigeria

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

For violating the country’s financial regulations and procurement laws, Nigeria’s Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAuGF) has said it discovered irregular payments of taxpayers’ money for shoddy contracts of about N197.72 billion in some Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

ConsumerConnect reports the OAuGF’s disclosed details of its  findings in the Auditor-General’s Annual Report on Non-Compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses, covering activities between 2020 and 2021.

The report revealed the affected MDAs include the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc, a subsidiary of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC) Plc, and other MDAs in the country.

The report also disclosed these violations include irregular payments for contracts, and payment for jobs partially executed or not executed at all, contravening the country’s financial regulations and procurement laws.

It is noted that financial corruption has been the bane of Nigeria’s problem over several decades.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) corruption survey report released July 2024, showed that Nigerians paid N721 billion as “bribes” to public officials last year.

Specifically, the OAuGF Annual Report stated N7.386 billion was the amount of irregularities in the award of contracts by 32 MDAs.

It further stated that REA topped the chart with N2.12 billion while NSPMC recorded the least with N11.7 million.

The report noted: “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 (NSPMC) Plc has the least amount of N11,720,000 (Eleven million, seven hundred and twenty thousand.”

The OAuGF said the worst revelation of the report showed how the sum of N167.59 billion was paid for jobs or contracts that were either partially executed or not executed at all.

It is, however, noted that practice contravenes Paragraph 708 of the Financial Regulations, which prohibits payments for services or goods not yet delivered in the country.

The report as well indicated the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, an agency in the country’s power sector of the economy, accounted for N100 billion of the irregular payments, making it the highest in this category. Me

The National Centre for Women Development also recorded the lowest irregularity at N2.17 million, according to the Office of the Auditor-General.

The report stated: “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).”

There are also instances of violations of due process in contract awards, amounting to N20.33 billion across 24 MDAs, said the report.

According to OAuGF, 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.

The report further indicated that NSPMC, a subsidiary of CBN, was responsible for the highest amount of due process violations, totalling N14.14 billion, while the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) had the least, at N8.98 million.

The report revealed: “The sum of N20,334,104,016.27 (twenty billion, three hundred and thirty-four million, one hundred and four thousand, sixteen Naira, 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).”