· Spends millions on OAGF auditors
By Our Correspondent
The anti-graft war of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration seems to be only on paper as The Abuja Inquirer has uncovered widespread graft in most of the ministries, departments and agencies.
In its Accountability Project, this newspaper found sharp practices ranging from contract splitting, over invoicing, outright illegal waivers and misappropriation of funds by officials in the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs in contravention of extant rules and procurement laws.
The Abuja Inquirer learnt that the rot is deep so much so that the country representatives of a UN agency, (names withheld as she is yet to respond to inquiries on her time in Nigeria) cut short her term and requested transfer from Nigeria when her shady deals with officials in the ministry was about to come to light.
Putting a spotlight on the alleged corrupt activities of the ministry, an anti-corruption civil society group, Integrity Advocacy for Development Initiative, IADI, in a FoI request to the permanent secretary of the ministry dated March 19, 2022, titled; Allegations of Wilful Misapplication of Public Funds, Extrabudgetary Expenditure, Violation of Due Process and Contravention of the E-Payment Policy of Government by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, noted that “we are concerned about a cumulative sum of (Thirteen Million, Four Hundred and Forty Thousand (N13,440,000.00) purportedly expended on the “Production of the Women Affairs Magazine” by the FMWA.”
The details of the expenditure showed that the cost of the production was split to circumvent procurement rules but even fell short of their attempt.
The sum of N4, 080, 000 was noted as “Advance Payment to Olujimi Oyetomi for the production of 2000 Copies of the Next Edition of FMWA magazine on August 17, 2021.
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Less than a month later, another N4,080,000 was paid to one Yahaya Fatimah with the same title on September 21, 2021.
In a slight variation but still on magazine production, a certain Lazrus Alfa Odawn was paid various sums ranging from N1m, N1.5m and N2, 780m all on December 23, 2021 all for magazine production.
In total, the ministry to print 2, 000 copies of the in-house magazine spent a princely N13,440,000.00.
Efforts by this newspaper to get a copy of the magazine proved abortive as an unnamed official of the ministry claimed that they had exhausted all copies of the magazine.
The query of the civil society group showed that there was no appropriation for the magazine expenditure in the 2021 Appropriation Act of the ministry.
Further, the payments are in violation of a Federal Government Circular Ref. No. TRY/A2 and B2/2013 OAGF/CAD/026/V.1/188 dated April 9, 2013 which states that “All Accounting Officers and Officers controlling expenditure are to ensure that all local procurement of stores and services costing above N200,000 shall be made only through award of contracts.”
Further, all the payments were made in violation of paragraph 613 of the Financial Regulations which states that, “Payments shall be made only to the persons named in the vouchers or their properly authorized representatives…”
“Consequent upon the above paragraph, the payments would have been made directly to OLUJIMI OYETOMI who is said to be the Director, Press & Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs.”
That the whole amounts were not transferred from the accounts of the recipients to that of Olujimi Oyetomi in line with the e-payment policy of government.
Also, several payments by the ministry to officers from the Office of the Account General of the Federation, OAGF, raises allegations of compromise.
Over N6,206,000 was listed as advance payment to “facilitate OAGF audit monitoring exercise.”
On August 18, 2021, A.D Jumbo received N1,830m for one such exercise. Similarly, Yahaya Fatimah collected N728, 000 as
Advance Payment to Service the Visit of 5 Treasury Revenue Officers from OAGF for Revenue Monitoring.
Within the same period, Johnson Agama Ezekiel received N1.216million as “transport and refreshment allowances to the officer and others in respect of the visit of the audit monitoring team from OAGF” on December 30, 2021
That same day, Onyenze Nkemka Christian and Roberts Okon Samson, under the same heading were paid the same amount of N1.216 million, respectively.
The IADI noted that “The above table portrays payments that were made to “Service Audit Monitoring Team from OAGF”, an agency that to our knowledge has its lawful appropriation to carry out its auditing function independently.
“Come to think of it, what is the distance from the OAuGF to FMWA, and what kind of refreshment was offered to these officers that should cost Nigeria a whopping sum of N3,648,000.00 at this time in our nation’s history when we borrow to fund the budget? These are questions that the FMWA is obligated to provide clarification to.”
In other acts of alleged corruption, the sum of N3,500million was paid to Ayanwole Morenike Juliana, on 30/03/2021 supposedly as “advance payment to Osunkoya O.O for organizing a 2-day Leadership Masterclass Programme for the Top Management Level Officers in the Ministry”, and another sum of N855,000.00 paid to the same officer on 20/08/2021 as “DTA , Air-Tickets and other Allowances to Osunkoya O.O (Mrs) for Additional Members of staff attending the 21st National Council on Women Affairs Holding In Uyo, Akwa Ibom State”.
The letter signed by Comrade Ofomhi Christopher, executive director, stated that it “gross financial infraction to pay the DTA and other allowances of one officer to another as shown above.
Efforts to get the reaction of the ministry to the allegations proved abortive as all letters and calls yielded nothing.
