FG, State, Local Govts should subject their structures to Forensic Audit for accountability
Forensic audit reports recently have begun to reveal malfeasance of financial misappropriation, with wide gaps which are acts of corruption in government circle. Revelations from these reports have shown the depth of corruption inclinations in the Country, particularly in the public sector.
On Thursday, September 01, 2022, it was disclosed a forensic audit report revealed that a sum of N11.9 billion public funds were carted away from the treasury of Kwara State between 2011 and 2019 without any lawful tie to any project or programme. In a statement issued in Ilorin on Thursday by Mr Rafiu Ajakaye, the Chief Press Secretary to the Kwara State Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the audit also showed that N2 billion cash withdrawals not tied to any project or official expenditure were made within eight days in February 2019, barely one month to the general election. Presenting the report to the State Governor Prof. Anthony Iniomoh, said the report is in two volumes covering Internally Generated Revenue; Capital Receipts; Internal and External Loans; Recurrent/Overhead Expenditure; Personnel Cost (Salaries and Wages); Capital Expenditure; Assets Disposed; Kwara State Internal Revenue Service; Infrastructural Fund Kwara (IFK); and Harmony Holdings Limited, among others.
“A few highlights of our findings may be necessary for the record. Our forensic audit revealed a colossal pilfering of N11,981,268,709, which we recommended should be recovered to the public coffers. Similarly, we recommended to the state government to prosecute certain officers and companies in addition to claiming exemplary damages on transactions totalling N6,023,358,444, amongst other key findings.
“A firm that was incorporated at the Corporate Affairs Commission on 14th June, 2016, was paid by the state government for a contract it purportedly executed for the state in April of the same year. A preconceived attempt to defraud the state,” Inumoh said at the presentation of the report.
The report of the forensic audit observed cases of firms that were paid huge public funds without any evidence of work done on record. The report also revealed an instance of a public officer getting paid at two different places for years. It also disclosed that there was a cash withdrawal within eight days of N2.06 billion in February 2019 without no documentation made available to validate the purpose for which the money was withdrawn. Also, there were several other cash withdrawals within the state over the period running into billions of naira which the audit team could not validate. According to him, the audit revealed that loans were obtained by the Kwara government within the period under review. “The elements of these loans could not be validated. Above all, the bank accounts to which these loans were disbursed to and what the loans were used for could not be established or validated,” the report showed.
The report suggested to the government to prosecute some individuals and firms indicted in the two volume report, while other issues are to be referred to administrative panel of inquiry for some individuals to explain their roles in the many infractions.
Recently, revelations of forensic reports of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Government have exposed deep seated malfeasance of corrupt inclinations of financial misappropriation and mismagament. The exposure of the gaps, without explanations to clear the air by the affected MDAs, are indications of fraudulent practices which have continued to show forth by the outcomes of these reports. MDAs of the Federal Government have centrally been in the eyes of these exposures, particularly those with revenue generating profile. The reports have not only revealed gross financial recklessness, but also flagrant refusal to remit revenues to the coffers of the Federal Government.
Recently, the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation, in its report presented to the National Assembly, alleged various financial infractions by Nigeria’s Foreign Missions between 2010 and 2019. The infractions revealed failure to remit Internally Generated Revenue as well as gross impunity of financial recklessness. It is disgusting such corruption is taking space while cries of paucity of funds by the embassies and high commissions have kept on reverberating.
The Auditor-General in the report decried that efforts to audit the accounts of some of the Missions were frustrated by officials who acted on a directive by the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Auditor-General, in the over 450-page document containing a list of audit queries against the missions, raised alarm over their habit of spending with impunity outside their budgets and that without the approval of the National Assembly.
“The practice where Nigerian Missions over expended their allocations with impunity should be frowned at. It should be noted that this action is a contravention of Financial Regulation which stipulates that no expenditure on any subhead of the recurrent estimates in excess of the provision in the approved estimates or supplementary estimates may be authorised by any officer controlling a vote without the prior approval of the National Assembly. I am deeply worried at the non-adherence to budgetary provisions by most Missions. It is important to note that this act contravenes the provision of extant regulations which stipulates that no expenditure on any subhead of the recurrent estimates in excess of the provision in the approved estimates or supplementary estimates may be authorised by any officer controlling a vote without the prior approval of the National Assembly. It should also be noted that this practice makes nonsense of the appropriation. I have observed that most of the Nigerian Missions have formed the habit of over expending their allocations with impunity. This practice makes nonsense the essence of appropriation and should be frowned at.
“I have noted with dismay that most Nigerian Missions incur expenses on most of their expenditure sub-heads in excess of the provision in the approved estimates. It should be noted that this contravenes the provisions of Financial Regulation 313 (2009 Edition) which stipulates that no expenditure on any sub-head of the Recurrent estimates in excess of the provision in the approved estimates or supplementary estimates may be authorised by any officer controlling a vote without approval of the National Assembly,” the Auditor-General had decried.
According to the report, while the landed property of the Nigerian Embassy in Brasilia were in a dilapidated condition without any effort to renovate them, the embassy had been spending $50,247.89 annually on rent for two of its officials, noting that amount spent on rent for three years could have been used to renovate the buildings and cut cost. The report also revealed that the embassy exchanged six old vehicles, whose prices were not made available, for two new ones purchased at a total cost of $95,211, while an additional $17,642.08 was spent on shipment, insurance and clearing of the new vehicles, even when there was no budgetary provision for the acquisition.
Another query alleged that in 2010, the then Nigerian Ambassador to Poland claimed over N9.777million annually for non-existing domestic staff. According to the report, even though the ambassador’s letter of deployment noted engagement of a cook/steward, a maid and gardener who should be engaged locally and enrolled on the payroll of the mission, they were never employed.
Another query alleged that in 2011, the Nigerian Ambassador to France spent over N1.75m on entertainment of guests without any record of the guests, haircuts, manicure, hair colouring and cost of ticket to Nigeria for consultation without any evidence of any official invitation/approval for the journey. The Auditor-General described these as “very private expenses that should not have been borne by public funds.”
The report further revealed that officials of the Nigeria Embassy in Paris were printing official receipts booklets for the collection of government revenue privately, contrary to Financial Regulations which stipulated that “under no circumstances shall temporary or privately printed receipts be utilised for the collection of government revenue.” According to the office, the practice encouraged fraudulent activities, making it difficult to track the receipts issued out and thus difficult to determine the actual revenue generated.
It was revealed in another query that at the Embassy of Nigeria, Washington D.C., USA, properties owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria were sold and the proceeds of the sales used to open a ‘Property Account.’ A scrutiny of the bank statements of the main account revealed that several transfers of funds amounting to USD17,477,677.54 (N2,619,949,997.79) were made at different times between 28th August, 2009 and 26th April, 2012, from the ‘Property Account’ to the main account. Despite these huge transfers, the main account had only a meagre balance of the sum of USD769.49 (N115,348.58) as at 16th May, 2012.
The revelations of these forensic audits have, no doubt, reflected their relevance to expose malfeasant practices of corruption of financial recklessness. This, no doubt, is veritable in the drive to fighting corruption in the Country. It is indisputable that the significance of such reports would bear their relevance in the architecture to fight corruption, particularly at this time when the need to confront the scourge, which has left the Country debilitated over the years, has become non negotiable.
The need to further strengthen and maximise the mechanisms of forensic audits of MDAs in the Country from the Federal to the State and Local Governments is pertinent to change the corruption inclinations in the public sector circle. Hence, the echelons of all these levels of government should expose and subject their MDAs to such forensic exercises without interference with the process. This is essential to deepen the architecture of transparency and accountability which are key to the running of democracy which the Country subscribes to.
The role of the National Assembly and State Assemblies to take the process further with thorough probes of the MDAs exposed in allegations of financial related corruption made known through revelations of these reports, is pertinent to optimise the benefits of the exercise. Taking the process further, the judiciary has a role to play for trial of individuals nailed in the malfeasance of gross financial misappropriation.
This is important to salvage the Country from the scourge of corruption which, over the years, have held the Country to ransom, under a condition where growth and development have been frustrated by gross misappropriation of funds that should have gone into concrete projects, but ended in private pockets, thus leaving the Country with a paradox of “suffering amidst plenty.”
