Nigerian lawmakers express concern over revenue loss

The House of Representatives’ Public Accounts Committee has summoned the heads of the Bureau for Public Enterprises, Nigeria Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority, as well as the Standard Organisation of Nigeria over the loss of billions of naira in revenue.

These losses are reported from companies operating in the oil-free zones as contained in audit queries issued by the office of the Auditor General of the Federation.

A directive was also given by the committee to the clerk to publish the said audit queries against defaulting agencies in three national dailies for the public, as well as the President to see.

The committee had hinged its rulings on reports of the Auditor General for the Federation detailing several infractions by government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) submitted to it for legislative action.

Chairman of the committee, Oluwole Oke at the resumed investigation of the MDAs, lamented the attitude of the relevant government agencies who he said abdicated their statutory responsibilities of generating revenue for the government whilst Nigeria goes cap-in-hand looking for loans from foreign countries and creditors to finance the nation’s annual budgets.

Mr Oke said the purpose of the publication was to enable Nigerians and President Muhammadu Buhari to see and know those agencies sabotaging the government’s efforts of making life better for the citizenry.

The lawmaker lamented that a situation where the country keeps suffering the loss of revenue through non-issuance of receipts for payments made to Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority, Fraudulent practices on the issuance of Certificates of Acceptance on Capital Allowances by the Inspectorate Division of the Ministry of Trade and Industry was unfortunate and unacceptable.

Oke also ruled that the Director-General, Bureau for Public Enterprises must appear in person to answer queries issued against his agency, just as he is expected to appear with the Certificate of Acceptance for Capital Allowance. (RadioNigeria)