Audit report uncovers N3.203tr financial infractions in NBET

The Office of the Auditor General for the Federation (OAuGF) has uncovered over N3.203 trillion in financial infractions involving the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET).
This is contained in the 2021 audit report on non-compliance/internal control weaknesses in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the federation for the 2021 financial year, which was submitted to the National Assembly.

The report, signed by the Auditor General for the Federation (AuGF), Shaakaa Kanyitor Chira, stated that NBET and seven other agencies collectively failed to recover the sum of N2.902 trillion in revenue meant for the federal government in 2021. Of that amount, NBET alone accounts for N2.896 trillion.
The agency was also implicated in an alleged irregular payment of N115.675 billion, involving 64 agencies, with NBET again accounting for the highest infraction of N96.2 billion.

Other infractions involving NBET include the sum of N167.592 billion for contracts not executed by 31 MDAs in the year under review, with NBET paying a whopping N100 billion for unexecuted contracts. The agency was also one of the 19 agencies that could not account for about N122.5 billion, with it accounting for N111.601 billion.

The Auditor-General’s report further revealed that the sum of N7.386 billion was the number of irregularities in the award of contracts by 32 MDAs, with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Abuja, having the highest infraction of N2.118 billion, while the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc. (NSPM) had the least, N11.7 million.

Six MDAs failed to deduct withholding tax and value-added tax amounting to N129.341 million as accruing tax to the government, with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) failing to deduct the highest tax amounting to N90.58 million, while the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment came last with N623,162.80.

The report further stated that 21 MDAs failed to deduct the sum of N2.636 billion as tax from payments to several beneficiaries, with the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc. (NSPM) coming top with N41.009 billion, while the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta, came at the rear with N617,427.66.

According to the report, 11 MDAs failed to remit N11.561 billion in tax deducted from taxpayers to the relevant tax authorities, with the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc. (NSPM) failed to remit the highest amount of N10.393 billion, while the Federal Medical Centre, Katsina, failed to remit N1.371 million, the least amount.

The report also stated that the sum of N8.312 billion was paid out by about 40 MDAs without supporting documents to back up the payment, with the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) being the biggest culprit, paying N1.529 billion, while the Federal College of Land Resources Technology, Owerri, had the least amount of N1.992 million.

It also alleged that eight MDAs misapplied the sum of N663,854,877.01 in contravention of extant laws, with the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, spending about N253,532,050.49 of the money, while 24 other MDAs awarded contracts worth N20.334 billion without following due process, with the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc. (NSPM) awarded a contract valued at N14.136 billion without following due process.

It was further revealed that the Federal Inland Revenue Service failed to recover about N69.928 billion in tax liabilities from 26 of its outstation offices within the period under review, while items valued at N968.908 billion were taken from the store without ledger charges by 29 MDAs, with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Lagos, alone accounting for N125 billion of the items.

The audit report also stated that in 2021, 15 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies carried out extra-budgetary expenditures amounting to N15.786 billion, with the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) accounting for N8.86 billion of the amount.

In addition, it stated that six Ministries, Departments, and Agencies carried out a virement of about N2.63 billion without approval, with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) accounting for N1.9 billion of the amount.

It also reported that about N6.602 billion was generated internally by 29 MDAs but not remitted to the appropriate authorities, with the National Pension Commission withholding the highest amount of N4,429,550,386.58, while 35 MDAs circumvented the procurement process, leading to the loss of N1,948,132,710.98.

The report accused nine MDAs of paying external solicitors about N243,932,964.27, engaged without the Attorney-General’s Fiat, with the Bureau of Public Procurement having the highest amount of N112,261,659.00, while another five MDAs paid unspecified third parties about N439,688,368.76 without the Attorney-General’s approval.

Five MDAs awarded contracts valued at N2.407 billion and above their approval threshold, with Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, having the highest amount of N1,065,614,232.70, while staff and unauthorized persons from another five sets of MDAs illegally held on to government vehicles valued at N747,749,365.06, with the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc. (NSPM), Abuja, having the highest amount of N413,343,623.00.

Other infractions reported by the Auditor-General include denial of access to documents with expenditure amounting to N21,480,891,930.77 by 11 MDAs, unretired cash advances in 30 MDAs amounting to N1,300,643,209.41, and payment without vouchers amounting to N1,135,025,464.67, with the Federal Ministry of Works (Housing Sector) having the highest amount of N1,076,662,242.61.