Revenue remittance: Reps quiz NIPC over N5.75bn expenditure

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The House of Representatives quizzed the management of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) on Thursday over irregularities in revenue and expenditures carried out between the 2023 and 2024 financial years.

Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Hon. Abiodun James Faleke, made the observation in Abuja during the review of the quarterly revenue monitoring exercise with key federal revenue-generating institutions.

Other lawmakers who spoke during the exercise also expressed concerns over the purported agreement between the Council and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation on the deduction of 40 per cent for a fully funded agency, in breach of existing financial regulations.

The lawmakers specifically queried the Council over the sum of N2.099 billion in revenue generated in 2023 and N2.6 billion in expenditure recorded for the same financial year, thereby showing a deficit of N590.1 million.

The lawmakers also faulted a similar situation for the year 2024, which showed that the Council generated a sum of N2.89 billion against N3.15 billion in expenditure within the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

In the same vein, the lawmakers, while scrutinising the financial records presented by the Council, lamented over the sum of N138.6 million declared as operating surplus for the year 2023 and zero operating surplus for Q1 of the year 2024.

The NIPC was also quizzed over the subhead of remittances worth N1.034 billion (comprising of N380 million and an operating surplus of N654 million debited directly by the oAGF) into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for 2023, as well as N1.446 billion directly debited from the NIPC account by the oAGF for 2024.

Speaking on behalf of NIPC, Director of Finance and Accounts (DFA), Mr. James Akwada explained that the Council blocked the accounts of some of the erring companies from making payments into the Council’s account.

In response to the remittance of a partial part of the revenue made by the Council, he said: “We were given between 50 and 60, and then the balance is to be utilised by us. Last year, they gave us 60/40.”

Piqued by the DFA’s submission, Hon. Faleke said, “Who is giving you all this for a fully funded agency? When did you get all this? Where, where? Oga, you are a fully funded agency. In other words, the government provides for your overhead and capital.

“So, your IGR is supposed to form parts of the bulk revenue that will be used for other government agencies. So, you, sir, go down and spend your own IGR and at the same time receive an inflow of budget funding. Is that correct?

“Are you in that category? The only agencies that are not fully funded get that opportunity, not you. How many years have you spent there (in NIPC)?”

In his response, Mr. Akwada said he has been working at NIPC since 1999.

Speaking further, Hon. Faleke, who was infuriated by his insistence that the Council has been arguing on the justification for the utilisation of the revenue generated, said, “You mean argue? Whose authority is it? Are you to obey the law or to argue?

“Are you in a law court? Who gave you the concession? Where is the letter? That’s what we are saying—who gave you the concession? We want to know if you are given, show us the letter, and then we can invite the Ministry here.”

Worried by the development, Hon. Faleke underscored the AGF, Mrs. Modupe Madein, to appear before the Committee on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, to clear the air on the authority for the concession in breach of the financial regulations, which compelled all fully funded MDAs to remit 100 percent of the revenue generated into the government’s coffers.

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