Clerk of National Assembly Summoned Over Missing N9.4bn as Auditor General Demands Answers

• Over N9 billion remain unaccounted for by Nigeria's National Assembly which the Auditor General said were given in 2019
• The Auditor-General's office issued series of queries to the Clerk of National Assembly, Amos Ojo and the National Assembly Service Commission to explain the whereabouts of the funds
• The House of Representatives and Senate Committees said they are investigating the missing billions in the upper legislative chambers

Nigeria’s Auditor-General of the Federation has sent audit queries against the country’s National Assembly and the National Assembly Service Commission to explain how it spent about N9.424 billion in 2019.

The AG’s office said the monies remain allegedly unaccounted for.

12 Queries issued to NASS

The Punch reports that the House of Representatives was issued with five audit queries amounting to N5.5 billion and the Senate was given seven queries on spending N3.5 billion without accounts.

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In two queries, Nigeria's National Assembly was asked to account for expenditures amounting to N307, 676.

In the Auditor-General’s Federation Annual Report on Non-Compliance/Internal Control Weakness Issues in Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria for 2019.

Auditor-General demands answers

Adolphus Aghughu, the Acting Auditor-General of the Federation, presented the information to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Ojo Amos on September 15, 2021, as the Senate and House Reps Committees on Public Accounts began findings into the queries.

According to the report, the total sum of N.55 billion given to members of the House of Reps as running costs from July to December in 2019 could not be accounted for because there were no pieces of evidence to back them up.

Monies for car loans, renovations, etc. unaccounted for

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The report also said a total of N258 was released to 59 staffers of the House of Reps and another N107.912 million was given for repairs to two workers over unspecified residential quarters.

The AG’s office said the procedure denied the government the mandatory VAT and Withholding Tax of N10,791.296 which is accruable.

Also, the report said another N1.594 billion was paid to revenue sources from February and December 2019 as Pay As You Earn for six members, a car loan for five members and a housing loan for six members without receipts.

More than N1 billion from the salary account of the House without payment vouchers were also queried by the AG’s office.

The auditor-general asked the Clerk to the National Assembly to explain the irregularities and ensure the funds were returned to the government treasury.

Buhari worried over alterations in 2022 budge by NASS

Legit.ng reported that On Friday, December 31, President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law the 2022 Appropriation Bill in the Presidential Villa.

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The president, however, expressed strong reservations on the ‘‘worrisome changes’’ made by the National Assembly to the 2022 Executive Budget proposal, a statement his spokesman, Garba Shehu, indicates.

President Buhari noted that though the legislators reduced Independent Revenue by N400 billion, they did not provide him with justification for doing so.

Source: Legit.ng