The Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company had revealed how a former Managing Director of Transmission Company of Nigeria and seven other staff members who are no longer in its employment went away N188.36 million loan.
The allegation is contained in the management’s response to the audit query from the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation on non-compliance/internal control weaknesses in Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria for the year ended 31st December 2020.
Explaining the loan, the OAuGF said “Audit observed that the sum of N321.72m was paid to a former Managing Director of the company and seven other officers as staff mortgage scheme/revolving loans for the acquisition of properties while they were in active service.
“Of the above amount, a former Managing Director received the sum of N85.28m in January 2018, while the balance of N236,44m was paid to the seven officers in July 2016.
“At the time of disengagement from the Service in July 2020, the former Managing Director had only repaid the sum of N35.71m leaving an unpaid balance of N49.58m while the sum of N97,66m was recovered from the seven former officers of the company, leaving an unpaid balance of N138.78m.
“In all, the sum of N188.36m remained outstanding at the time of audit in October 2020, and all the officers in question were disengaged from service in 2018 without paying the outstanding loan of N188.36m.
Following NBET’s management failure to respond to the audit query, it was recommended that the Managing Director was tasked to provide reasons for the disengagement of officers who had a debt of N188.36m to pay.
The OAuGF report also accused the agency of failure to submit its audit report account as required by law from 2017 to 2019.
The report said, “Paragraph 3210(v) of the Financial Regulations 2009 states that the Chief Executive Officer shall submit both the Audited Accounts and Management Report to the Auditor-General and the Accountant General not later than 31st May of the following year of Account.”
“Despite the extant regulations, the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company failed to submit its audited financial statements for the years 2017 to 2019 to the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation as at the time of audit in October 2020.
“The above practice by the company contravened extant regulations on submission of audited financial statements and the anomalies could be attributed to weaknesses in the internal control system at the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company, Abuja”.
In its response, NBET management said “The accounting firm of Aminu Ibrahim and Co, who were engaged following the grant of No Objection by the Bureau of Public Procurement has commenced the process of carrying out the audit of the 2017, 2018 and 2019 financial statements that are outstanding.”
