Can of worms were yet again opened as the Auditor General of the Federation’s report revealed authority stealing and irregular payments across Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government.
The report revealed that a whooping sum of ₦197.72 billion irregular payment was made.
The financial hemorrhage was made possible due to deliberate affront on financial regulation by heads of agencies and systemic lapses in financial compliance and procurement processes within the federal government.
The findings, detailed in the Auditor-General’s Annual Report on Non-Compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses for activities between 2020 and 2021, exposed violations of financial regulations and procurement laws affecting multiple MDAs.
One of the significant breaches identified in the report involved irregularities in contracts worth ₦7.39 billion across 32 MDAs.
These breaches contravened Paragraph 2921(i) of the *Financial Regulations (2009)*, which requires open competitive bidding for all procurement processes.
The Rural Electrification Agency in Abuja accounted for the highest irregularity in this category, with contract violations amounting to ₦2.12 billion. In contrast, the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc recorded the least irregularity at ₦11.72 million.
The audit report read, “The sum of ₦7,386,551,051.09 (seven billion, three hundred and eighty-six million, five hundred and fifty-one thousand, fifty-one naira, nine kobo) was the amount of irregularities in the award of contracts by 32 ministries, departments and agencies.
“The Rural Electrification Agency, Abuja, has the highest amount of ₦2,117,143,168.09 (two billion, one hundred and seventeen million, one hundred and three thousand, one hundred and sixty-eight naira, nine kobo), while the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc (NSPM) has the least amount of ₦11,720,000 (Eleven million, seven hundred and twenty thousand naira).”
Another alarming revelation in the report was the sum of ₦167.59bn paid for jobs or contracts that were either partially executed or not executed at all.
This contravenes Paragraph 708 of the Financial Regulations, which prohibits payments for services or goods not yet delivered.
The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc in Abuja accounted for N100bn of these irregular payments, making it the highest in this category.
The National Centre for Women Development recorded the lowest irregularity at N2.17m.
The report read, “The sum of ₦167,592,177,559.40 (one hundred and sixty-seven billion, five hundred and ninety-two million, one hundred and seventy-seven thousand, five hundred and fifty-nine naira, forty kobo) was the amount of payments for jobs/contracts not executed by 31 ministries, departments and agencies.
“The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc., Abuja, has the highest amount of ₦100,000,000,000.00 (one hundred billion naira), while the National Centre for Women Development has the least amount of ₦2,171,766.44 (two million, one hundred and seventy-one thousand, seven hundred and sixty-six naira, forty-four kobo).”
The report also uncovered violations of due process in contract awards amounting to ₦20.33bn across 24 MDAs.
Section 16(21) of the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007 requires strict adherence to procurement plans and mandatory approvals before contract awards.
However, the audit found that these requirements were often ignored.
The NSPM in Abuja was responsible for the highest amount of due process violations, totaling N14.14bn, while the Corporate Affairs Commission had the least, at ₦8.98m.
The report noted, “The sum of ₦20,334,104,016.27 (twenty billion, three hundred and thirty-four million, one hundred and four thousand, sixteen naira, twenty-seven kobo) was the amount of contracts awarded in violation of due process by 24 ministries, departments and agencies.
“The Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc Abuja, has the highest amount of ₦14,136,472,333.16 (fourteen billion, one hundred and thirty-six million, four hundred and seventy-two thousand, three hundred and thirty-three naira, sixteen kobo) while the Corporate Affairs Commission has the least amount of ₦8,980,603.72 (eight million, nine hundred and eighty thousand, six hundred and three naira, seventy-two kobo).”
Also, a total of ₦2.41bn was discovered to have been paid for contracts exceeding approved financial thresholds without obtaining the required “Certificate of No Objection” from the Bureau of Public Procurement.
This violation affected five MDAs, with the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, recording the highest amount at ₦1.06bn.
The Federal Medical Centre, Bida, recorded the least amount, at ₦9.9m.
The report read, “The sum of ₦2,407,710,913.92 (two billion, four hundred and seven million, seven hundred and ten thousand, nine hundred and thirteen naira, ninety-two kobo) was the amount of contracts awarded above the threshold by five ministries, departments and agencies.
“The Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria has the highest amount of ₦1,065,614,232.70 (one billion, sixty-five million, six hundred and fourteen thousand, two hundred and thirty-two naira, seventy kobo) while the Federal Medical Centre, Bida, has the least amount of ₦9,900,000.00 (nine million, nine hundred thousand naira).”
