Nigerian Economist, Tilewa Adebayo Uncovers FG's N200bn Fraudulent Payment
- A report has shed light on N200 billion in unauthorized payments made by FG in 2019
- Mr Tilewa Adebayo says the FG executed numerous unapproved payments, exceeding a total of N200 billion
- Furthermore, the report highlighted the government's extravagant expenditure on non-essential items
Legit.ng journalist Victor Enengedi has over a decade's experience covering Energy, MSMEs, Technology and the stock market.
The Federal Government disbursed more than N200 billion in unapproved payments in 2019.
This was disclosed by the Chief Executive Officer of CFG Advisory, Mr Tilewa Adebayo, during a two-day Audit Reporting Workshop hosted by the FrontFoot Media Initiative in Lagos.
Adebayo, a corporate finance expert and economist, noted that these payments lacked the essential documentation and may have contravened the Public Procurement Act of the country.
Source: UGC
PAY ATTENTION: Donate to Legit Charity on Patreon. Your support matters!
According to The Guardian, Adebayo brought to light several irregularities and deficiencies within the 2019 Federal Government Audit Report.
He pointed out that the Auditor General uncovered these discrepancies, further revealing that more than N100 billion remained unaccounted for within the Federal Government's 2019 financial records, indicating potential misuse or theft of the funds.
Adebayo also observed the presence of inadequate internal controls within the Federal Government, making it challenging to prevent and identify fraudulent activities.
Additionally, the report highlighted the Federal Government's ineffectual revenue collection efforts, resulting in a substantial revenue deficit.
The audit report offers key recommendations
The financial expert emphasized that the report also highlighted the government's excessive spending on non-essential items, along with a rapidly increasing debt burden.
The Auditor-General's recommendations included a call for the government to curtail its non-essential expenditure and redirect its resources toward essential services like healthcare, education, and infrastructure.
Additionally, Adebayo noted that the report offered other key recommendations, such as the need for the government to establish a comprehensive debt management strategy to ensure the sustainability of its debt levels.
Furthermore, improving revenue collection efforts was advised through measures like expanding the tax base, streamlining tax administration processes, and taking rigorous actions against tax evasion.
In conclusion, Adebayo suggested that the Federal Government should contemplate a constitutional amendment requiring the president to present the annual audited accounts to the National Assembly in a manner analogous to the way they seek legislative approval for the budget.
Recall that a previous report issued by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation (OAGF) revealed that nine ministries, departments, and agencies of the federal government had exceeded their approved budgets by approximately N49.5 billion during the years 2018 and 2019.
Massive victory as Nigeria wins P&ID case in UK court
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the Nigerian federal government achieved a significant legal victory over Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) Limited in a London court on Monday, October 23.
This landmark judgment culminated five years of legal proceedings that ultimately favoured Nigeria, as the court dismissed the $11 billion arbitration award that had been in favour of P&ID.
Delivered by email, the judgment, by Robin Knowles, a Justice of the Commercial Courts of England and Wales, upheld Nigeria's plea, citing that the gas processing contract, marred by fraud, was unlawfully obtained.
Source: Legit.ng
