By Favour Goodness
The Senate has directed the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation of Nigeria to recover N665.8 billion diverted from the country’s mineral development fund.
According to a report released by the House Judiciary Committee, the funds were diverted from the Natural Resources Development Fund and the National Coordinating Fund to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). power and the Nigerian Army and so on
A study conducted by a committee headed by Senator Mathew Urhoghide found that many agencies had benefited from the misappropriation of funds from the Office of the Auditor General, which should have been used for development projects. the mining sector in the country
Other reports suggest that the federal government used some of the funds to pay for the rights of former president Goodluck Jonathan and his deputy Namadi Sambo, estimated at N1.5 billion in June 2015.
It was also found that INEC has received about N20 billion from the Natural Resources Development Fund in addition to the N17.9 billion from investments in rice imports.
N30 billion has also been allocated to the INEC for the 2015 general elections.
Other ministries that received funds include the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (N3.6 billion), the Ministry of Works (N2 billion) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCA). 13, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports for N500 million.
The Senate has decided to give the Office of the Auditor General a 60-day deadline to ensure that the money is returned to the fund.
It also directed that all funds withdrawn from the fund be verified, used properly and that parliamentary approval be sought before withdrawing any funds from the fund.
