Abdul-Rahman Abubakar
4 July 2008
Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo said yesterday that the N30.9 billion withdrawn by the Transportation Minister Mrs. Diezani Allison Madueke from the Ministry's accounts at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) during the last four days of 2007 were in order.
Appearing before the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee investigating spending in the transport sector since 1999, the AGF said the money was already spent on projects with certificates from the Due Process Office.
According to Dankwambo, "All capital expenditure that had Due Process certificate as at the end of December can still access monies that are released to the ministries, because the money has already been released to the ministries up to March 31. They do not have to resubmit because the SGF said that all ministries that have gone and have cited their projects and felt that such projects needed Due Process Certificate for payment, such request must be submitted by the end of November."
Members of the committee argued that the provision of the 2007 Appropriation Act was violated by making withdrawals of monies from the Central Capital Account which was used to make payment to contractors up to March 2008.
In his response, the AGF said, "No money has been spent because the certificate says that they have done work and require payment. That is why they say Certificate for Payment. But you see, from the time you get certificate to the time you will meet requirement for payment cannot be the same."
He said though the Appropriation Act provides that all monies must be spent within January and December, "When there is due process certification that a project has been completed, then the money has been spent."
Mrs. Allison Madueke had told the Senate committee that, "Distinguished Senators, we did not take out money and warehouse, we had a letter from the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) which clearly stated that, all projects that had been certified by Due Process by 31 of December, we can actually access these funds up till 31st of March."
Supporting her submission, the Accountant General told the committee, "You see, as soon as money is moved from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to the Central Capital Account, the condition is that there must be a certification that as at now, the contractor meets the request for payment and he should be paid. The money is already spent. That is as at 2007, the money is spent."
Asked to explain what constitutes unspent funds to be returned to the treasury, the AGF said, "For monies in terms of recurrent that are held by the ministries and agencies which have not been exhausted as at 31st of December."
Chairman of the Committee, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri (PDP, Bayelsa South) told the AGF that the issue can be based on morality, to pay contractors that have completed jobs, but that it contravenes Section 81 of the 1999 Constitution which provides that appropriation is meant to last from January to December.
In his reaction, the AGF suggested that the committee should seek interpretation on the matter, saying, "If it is the matter of legality, as a layman, I think the AGF is the one to answer."
Central Bank Governor Prof. Chukwuma Soludo told the committee during his brief presentation that N946.855 Billion was spent on the transport sector since 1999.
Reacting to whether CBN could make payments not captured in the appropriation acts, Soludo said, "That is impossible. It is like a commercial bank making payment from an individual account without a signed cheque from the holder of the account."
When she appeared again before the committee yesterday, Mrs. Allison-Madueke apologized over publications in the media that angered the Senate panel.
She said, "I want to say that the publications and press statements over the weekend are not in any way meant to embarrass the committee. And I want to say that the ministry is ready to cooperate with the Senate in the task of improving the transportation sector."
Meanwhile, Minister of Finance Dr. Shamsudeen Usman and the Attorney General of Federation Mr. Micheal Aondoakaa failed to appear before the Senate Aviation Committee yesterday. The committee, which is investigating the N19.5 billion intervention fund of the Obasanjo regime, said the Finance Minister was on his way out of the country, while the Attorney General was attending a meeting at the Aso Rock Villa.
Chairman of the Committee, Senator Anyim Ude (PDP, Ebonyi South) said, "We cannot continue to wait for them.
The BASA is important because there are millions of dollars in the bank and if the money was made available, Nigeria would have had no reason to take loan from a commercial bank with high interest rate, which we have paid about N2 billion now as interest."
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Daily Trust. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
