Senate asks BPE to refund N8.7bn into consolidated revenue fund

The senate has directed the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to refund N8.7 billion into the consolidated revenue fund (CRF) over alleged financial infractions committed by the agency between 2014 and 2015.

This development follows the adoption of the 2015 auditor-general of the federation’s (AuGF) report that indicted the BPE.

The BPE, according to the 2015 audit report sustained by the senate committee on public accounts and adopted by the upper chamber, allegedly committed a series of financial infractions between 2014 and 2015 financial years, totalling N8.7 billion in violation of several extant rules of financial regulations.

The senate said one of such violations was the alleged non-remittance of N4.7 billion dividends received on federal government holdings which was not remitted to the CRF.

The BPE, in its response to the query, said all dividends received on federal government holdings in the year under review totalling N6, 819, 388, 791 billion were transferred to treasury single account (TSA) in September 2015

However, the senate disagreed with the submission due to lack of documentary evidence to back it.

“The committee observed that there was no evidence provided by BPE to show that the dividend was remitted to TSA,” the audit report adopted by the senate reads.

“Consequently, the committee recommends that the bureau remits the sum of N4.74bn to the CRF, evidence of which must be submitted to the Auditor General of the Federation and Senate Public Accounts Committee.”

BPE, in another query to the BPE sustained and adopted by the senate, was accused of diverting N2.5 billion proceeds of defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) from Access and FCMB banks to now liquidated Aso Savings and Loans for financing of staff housing scheme, contrary to Financial Regulation 3205.

“The committee observed that there was no approval from Debt Management Office ( DMO) for the Bureau to secure a loan from ASO Savings just as it was also observed that there was collusion between ASO Savings and BPE,” the query and senate’s resolution noted.

“Consequently, the sum of N2.5 billion with all accrued interest be remitted to the CRF by BPE with evidence of remittance forwarded to the Auditor General of the Federation and Senate Public Accounts Committee.

“All officers involved in the transaction should be surcharged for the loss of government revenue in line with Financial Regulations 3106 and 3115”.

The committee also accused the BPE of not remitting N1.135 billion earned interests on fixed deposits in various commercial banks.

The interest, as explained in the query and adopted report, was from N19.77 billion deposited in various commercial banks, which the BPE management in its response, said was used to settle PHCN staff’s severance benefits.

But the committee alleged that the bureau had breached financial regulations and recommended remittance of the N1.135 billion to the CRF.

The committee’s report also contained an alleged non-remittance of N387.77 million incidental taxes to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) by BPE from the mandatory 10 per cent WHT collected as service charge from different investors in the year under review.

The committee further recommended remittance of the N387.77 million to the CRF and evidence of remittance should be submitted to the AuGF and senate public accounts committee.