Audit probe: NRC fails to account for missing N1.2bn

The Management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, on Tuesday failed to defend the N1.2bn allegedly missing from the coffers of the Corporation.

The NRC management appeared before the Hon Wole Oke led House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts on Tuesday based on an Audit query raised by the office of the Accountant General of the Federation between the 2013 and 2014 financial years.

Consequently, the Committee stepped down the presentations of the duo of Mrs O Osunmade and Alhaji A Niyi who represented the Corporation at the sitting for “misrepresentation of facts before the Parliament”.

According to the Chairman of the Committee, ” these documents before this honourable Committee cannot stand the test of time.

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” What these officials are telling this Committee is different entirely from what contained in the documents the Corporation submitted from us

“We will have to step down their matter for misrepresentation of facts, consequently, a subcommittee will be set up to look into the financial books and the activities of the Corporation for accountability

” Also the Secretariat should write officially to the Minister of Finance and the governor of the Central of Nigeria, CBN, to provide the Committee with the detailed financial accounts of the Corporation in the period under review to guide the Committee in the course of its investigation of the missing money ”

The Committee frowned at the request of the Corporation that it should be allowed to go back to study books and to come back for more details, saying  that was not acceptable

“Most of the pages of the audited accounts here before the Parliament were not signed, it shows that the report was not approved by the management of the Corporation”.

This came just as the Committee also grilled the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof Suleiman Abdulkareem over audit queries against the Institution in the years under review with a strict warning to provide convincing reasons while the  Institution would not refund over N12n advanced payments made to individuals between 2013 and 2014 but now making retirement five years after.

The Chairman of the Committee, Hon Oke dismissed the claims of the Vice-Chancellor that he was not in the office when the incident happened, describing as an untenable since governance was a continuous one.

According to him. ” all the retirements made in your submission are questionable, afterthought and unacceptable to us, you collected money in 2013 and you are just making the retirements now, these are makeup receipts, this is grossly against financial regulations

” Go and look for those concerned and do the needful or the Institution be ready to refund the money to the Federal government immediately “.

The Vice-Chancellor, however, pleaded with the Committee to give him more time to see to resolve the matter with an assurance that such illegal practice would not be allowed under his watch during his tenure.