Connect with us

NEWS

Reps PAC Accuses BPE of Squandering N10bn in Registering Two Failed Coys

Published

on

Share

By Using Ukpong, Abuja

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts(PAC), on Monday, accused the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) of wasting about N10 billion in registering two companies for the Nigeria Postal Service, only for the companies to fold up one year after their take off.

The Committee also directed the Joint Admission and Matriculations Board (JAMB) and the Investment and Security Tribunal to at into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation, about N3.
457 billion and N6. 327 million naira respectively within thirty days and tender evidence of payment before the committee. Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Bamidele Salam (PDP, Osun) who spoke at the resumed investigative hearing of the committee said no reasonable Nigerian will believe that N10.
4 billion was spent to register the two companies only for them to fold up barely obe year after. The two companies, NIPOST Transport and Logistics Limited and NIPOST Property reported took off in May 2023 and folded up through a Presidential directive in May 2024.BPE Head of Finance and Accounts who stood in for the Director General of the Agency, Imam Rilwan told the committee that while about N10 billion was given to the two companies for their take off, about N400 million was given to the BPE to prepare the ground for the take off of the companies. He said the issue of registering the two companies for NIPOST was approved in 2017, paving the way for the BPE to expend about N423 million in registering qnd carrying out other activities for the eventual take off of the companies. He said when the money eventually released in 2023, the Bureau had to recover its money, adding that the N423 million given to the BPE was used to rent office accommodation and carry out other essential services. He said while the Bureau paid rent for the two companies from 2022, the companies took pocession of the offices in May 2023, while they folded up in May 2024.He said all property belonging to the two companies have been officially handed over to NIPOST managementHowever, Salam said spending money from. Government coffers before the money is released is a clear violation of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, adding that such an action was not laughable. Aside trying to justify the expenditure, the representatives of the Bureau could not explain why they would spend money meant for other activities for the two companies, demanding relevant approvals from the Bureau. While expressing displeasure about the development, Salam directed the Director General of BPE, Ayodeji Gbeleyi to personally appear before the committee on Wednesday September 11 at 12.00noon with all relevant documents relating to the transaction. While ruling on the presentation by the Joint Admission ans Matriculations Board, Salam said their refusal to reply letters from. The fiscal responsibility commission informing them of their liabilities was an admittance of their indebtedness to the government. Head of Monitoring and Evaluation of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Bello Aliyu Gulmare had told the committee that the exam body was defaulting in its remittance, r emitting only 25 percent of its IGR instead of 50 percent He said the Commission wrote to the Board in April informing them of their indebtedness and another letter in August, adding that the Board did not respond to any of the letters. But the Director of Finance and Account of JAMB who represented the Registrar said the Board was not receiving any capital and overhead funding from the government and was therefore required to remit 25 percent of their IGR. He said there was a government circular that exempted them from remitting 50 percent of their IGR to government, a claim that was disputed by the office of the Accountant General of the Federation. He said the Board has a letter from the Ministry of Finance granting them waiver from paying the 50 percent waiver. While insisting that the FRC was trying to impose on them revenue theybare not supposed to pay, he said they refused to respond to the letters from the commission because they have been doing the back and forth since 2017.Ruling on the submission, the committee chairman and members frowned at the refusal of JAMB to respond to the letters insisting that government us runned based on correspondence. He said the board should pay into the government coffers, the amount standing against them within 30 days. In another ruling, the committee asked the Investment and Security Tribunal to immediately recover and pay ibto government account taxes not deducted from five contractors and the accompanying fine among other liabilities standing against them.

NEWS

Media, Important Ally in Anti-corruption Fight -EFCC Boss

Published

on

Share

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has stressed the need to collaborate with the Media and Civil society in the Fight against Corruption.

Okukoyede said this when the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ali Muhammed Ali, paid him a courtesy visit at the commissions, Headquarters in Abuja.

He described the media as an important ally in fighting and defeating the monster of corruption in the country.

He said that public enlightenment was one of the tools deployed in the fight against corruption, which he said could only be achieved using the media.

“We believe that concerning our mandate, we must have strong synergy with the media; the News Agency of Nigeria.

”It is extremely important because part of the factors we can deploy to really fight this war against corruption is public enlightenment, and the major stakeholders are the media people.

“Without you it will be extremely difficult to reach the grassroots and let the people know how endemic this problem is, and the need for us to all come together to collaborate.

”The job is not only for the law enforcement agency, it is for everybody,” he said.

According to him, there is nowhere in the world that anti-corruption agencies win the war against corruption without collaboration with the civil society and the media

”Because these are the people that will drum up from whatever you are doing and where there is sentiments, they are the people that will be able to balance things up,” he said.

Speaking on the effect of corruption in Nigeria and Africa in general, the EFCC boss said that corruption had a strong relationship with insecurity.

He said that security could only be achieved when the fight against corruption is won.

”As a matter of fact, if you can deal with the issue of corruption, the issue of insecurity will become an issue of the past. So we are going to collaborate with you,” he said.

Responding, the Managing Director of NAN stated that the visit to the EFCC was to intimate the Chairman on the agency’s plan to organize an international lecture on insecurity and the fight against corruption.

“We are coming to first intimate you on our plan to have the first international lecture organised by the agency.

”The agency, as part of its efforts to also contribute to the body of knowledge, has to go about having a resolution to this lingering crisis of insecurity in the country and beyond.

”We took it on a bigger scale. We are looking at insecurity in the Sahel, how it has affected Nigeria.

‘:We are dissecting the origin, the genesis, the impact and the options available to the country,” he said.

Speaking on insecurity and corruption, Ali identified a strong relationship between the two menace bedeviling the African region

He said that the EFCC, under the leadership of Olukoyede, had made significant strides in the anti-corruption fight over the years.

“We have seen the commendable job you’ve been doing in the last couple of months.

“We said let us go to the EFCC and intimate them and this is what is happening.

“We don not want to just have the Chairman as a mere invitee. The whole management came to intimate you about our plans,” the NAN MD said.(NAN)

Continue Reading

NEWS

CBN Denies Re-Introducing Cyber Security Levy

Published

on

Share

By Tony Obiechina, Abuja

The Central Bank of Nigeria has denied the re-introduction of the controversial cyber security level it abandoned in May after public outcry.The apex bank clarified this in a circular on Friday, made available on Friday. The apex bank said the clarification was necessary due to certain instances of misinterpretation or misrepresentation of its biennial publication on Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines published on September 17, 2024.

On May 6, 2024, the apex bank directed banks and other financial institutions to start deducting a cybersecurity levy.The levy was set at 0.5 per cent of all electronic transactions introduced under the newly enacted 2024 Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.
) Amendment Act.In the Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines, the bank highlighted the levy which was widely reported.CBN said, “Some recent media publications referencing aspects of the Guidelines refer to policy positions of the Bank issued prior to 31st December 2023, which have changed in the light of revisions and updates in 2024.“One example is the Cyber Security Levy, which was suspended in May 2024, superseding the circular reported in the Guidelines.“Certain technical aspects of the Guidelines have been widely misreported and misrepresented. For example, reports have mistakenly sought to link the fuel subsidy removal to external reserves.”

Continue Reading

NEWS

Borno: Why I Focus on Feeding 10,000 Flood Victims Daily – Imam

Published

on

Share

The Mutawalle of Borno, Alhaji Kashim Imam, says he engages in feeding 10,000 victims of Maiduguri flood disaster daily based on the victims’ critical requirement for now.Imam in an interview while monitoring the feeding programme, said, he would sustain the feeding, which he scaled it up from 6,000 to 10,000 for the victims in camps to complement government’s efforts.

According to Imam, as the victims gradually move out of camps in few weeks, they will be supported with rice to start cooking for themselves as against the current practice of cooked food distribution.
He commended his family members and volunteers for the daily cooking and distributing food to flood victims in various camps.
“I want to particularly commend the military, who are not only actively engaged in search and rescue operations but also assist me in sharing the food to victims as well as ensuring orderliness and decorum during the exercise,” Imam said.The former Board Chairman of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), also lauded the concern and response from government, organisations, philanthropists, and all other individuals to the people of Borno over the sudden incident that took people unaware.“Nobody was prepared for this, people were caught unaware in the middle of the night.“Many escaped with the only clothes they were wearing, with some trapped for more than a week.“As the flood recedes, many cannot even go back to their homes because there’s no home to go back to,” Imam lamented.A cross section of the victims benefitting from Imam’s gesture, expressed gratitude for the support and urged other leaders and well meaning Nigerians to emulate the good gesture in complementing government efforts at all levels.“The most pressing issue now is saving lives and stabilising the survivors through feeding and shelter.“We want to sincerely thank the Mutawalle of Borno, other philanthropists and organisations doing similar exercise in various camps.“May God Almighty bless them and continue to touch their lives with joy and happiness as they touched our lives at this moment of need,” Habiba Idris, a displaced woman with two children prayed. (NAN)

Continue Reading

Read Our ePaper

Top Stories

NEWS5 hours ago

Media, Important Ally in Anti-corruption Fight -EFCC Boss

ShareThe Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has stressed the need to collaborate with the...

Economy8 hours ago

NES Decries Rising Inflation, Unemployment, Poverty, Others

ShareBy David Torough, Abuja The Nigerian Economic Society (NES) has decried Nigeria’s socioeconomic dilemmas, including; low personal incomes, dysfunctional education,...

NEWS9 hours ago

CBN Denies Re-Introducing Cyber Security Levy

ShareBy Tony Obiechina, Abuja The Central Bank of Nigeria has denied the re-introduction of the controversial cyber security level it...

NEWS13 hours ago

Borno: Why I Focus on Feeding 10,000 Flood Victims Daily – Imam

Share The Mutawalle of Borno, Alhaji Kashim Imam, says he engages in feeding 10,000 victims of Maiduguri flood disaster daily...

NEWS13 hours ago

Edo Governorship: Tinubu Sues for Peace, Civility

SharePresident Bola Tinubu has called on all stakeholders in the upcoming Edo governorship elections to conduct themselves peacefully and sportingly.The...

NEWS15 hours ago

Ugbor Sues Alia for Defamation, Seeks N10bn Damages

ShareFrom Attah Ede Makurdi The controversy trailing the truck of palliatives seized by Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia yesterday took...

NEWS17 hours ago

Police Detain Man over Alleged Murder of Business Partner in Yobe

Share The Police Command in Yobe, says it has detained a man, Yunus Isa, in connection with alleged murder of...

NEWS17 hours ago

Maiduguri Flood: Over N12b Support Generated for Victims 

Share Borno Government says it has realized over N12b cash and material donations for victims of Alau Dam flood disaster...

NEWS17 hours ago

Jigawa Reviews mid-year Performance of MDAs

Share The Performance Delivery and Coordination Unit (PDCU), says it has concluded mid-year performance review of Ministries, Agencies and Departments...

NEWS17 hours ago

Benue State Enjoys Relative Peace, Prepares for Floods- Alia

Share Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, Governor of Benue, announced on Thursday that his state is experiencing relative peace, enabling farmers...

Copyright © 2021 Daily Asset Limited | Powered by ObajeSoft Inc