The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has unraveled facts on how the Office of Accountant General of the Federation illegally diverted N665.8 billion from the Solid Mineral Development Funds and Stabilisation Funds to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Ministry of Power, Army, and others.
Investigations by the Senator Matthew Urhoghide-led committee showed that the Federal Government paid the entitlements of former President, Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo, about N1.5 billion, from the fund on June 11, 2015.
It is also discovered that the electoral body collected about N20 billion from the Development of Natural Resources Fund, apart from N17.9 billion collected from the Brown Rice Levy, Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS) Pool Levy, and Rice Levy.
Also, N30 billion was released for INEC for the conduct of the 2015 general elections. (N10 billion was released on July 3, 2014, while N20 billion was released on January 12, 2015.)
Other beneficiaries of the funds (Solid Mineral Development Funds) illegally diverted are Ministry of Foreign Affairs, N3.6 billion; N50 billion was diverted to fund deficits in 2004; Ministry of Works, N2 billion; Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, N13 billion; Ministry of Sports, N500 million; Monetisation arrears due to
Power Holding Company of Nigeria staff, N57.5 billion; and N70 billion to accelerate capital budget in 2010.
Others are loans to facilitate the funding of capital budget in 2010, N80 billion; loans to facilitate 2013 capital budget for Q4, N80.7 billion; loans to Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, N6 billion in 2014.
In addition, N15 billion was released to Lucius Nwosu as judgment debt; N14 billion was released to the Ministry of Power for the Mambila Hydropower Transmission Projects, among others.
From the stabilisation fund, N847 million was given to Ghana and Sao Tome Principe. INEC also collected N87 billion to commence the conduct of fresh voter registration.
It paid back N21 billion but is yet to balance N66.7 billion.
