The stench of corruption pervading all sectors of Nigeria has continued, with the latest discovery by the Senate, of a missing N12billion from the accounts of the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP).
However, N10billion of the fund which was located in some of the failed financial institutions cannot be recovered, as NAPEP said it lacks powers to recover the fund.
These disclosures were made on Tuesday during a sitting by the Senate committee on public account. The committee was also told how a contractor carted away with the sum of N150million for the supply of spare parts for the tricycles otherwise known as Keke NEPAP.
The panel also uncovered how the agency paid additional N171 million as custom duties for the spare parts that were not supplied. Another N605 million was said to have been carted away by some Keke riders under the aegis on the Keke Riders Association of Nigeria (KRAN) . The agency was alleged to have also paid out another N1.4billion for projects that have not been verified by the Auditor General of the Federation. Representatives of the AGF at the session yesterday told the panel that some of the contracts for the agency had paid for were not verified by it.
National Coordinator of the NEPAP Alhaji Murktar Tefawa Belawa told the stunned committee that beneficiaries of the intervention fund have failed to remit N700 million revenue.
He said the agency had since written the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) on how Auto Ban limited had disappeared with the said N150 million paid to it by the agency for the supply of the spare parts.
Chairman of the Senate committee on public Account Senator Ahmed Lawan who slammed the management of the agency said it was fraudulent for NEPAP to have gone ahead to pay the sum of N171 million as custom duties for goods that were not delivered. The probe followed a number of queries by the Auditor General of the Federation (AGF) on the handling of some projects by NEPAP.
The committee also dismissed the submissions of the agency as corrupt, lies, useless and unsubstantiated; the committee warned that some relevant management staff of the agency involved in the funding of the projects may end up in jail. The AGF in the query presented to the senate committee on public accounts asked the agency to explain why it the total unit of 988 Keke valued at N292million were yet to be supplied. The AGF specifically asked the agency to account for the shortfall of N700.666million of the Keke not supplied. The AGF put the unit cost of keke at N295, 793.00 as against N450,000 claimed by NEPAP as cost of each Keke