ICPC Indicts MDAs In N220Million Tax Fraud, Mops Up Unspent 147B Personnel Cost

.. Blames Late Releases Of Budget Allocation For Excesses

By Matthew Ogune, Abuja
The Independent Corrupt Practice and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) yesterday in Abuja disclosed that a total of N220million tax was diverted by some Ministry Department and Agencies (MDAs) between 2018 and 2020 among other third party deductions like Cooperative and Union Dues.

ICPC Chairman, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye disclosed this while presenting a System Study Review of Budget Implementation for MDAs.

According to Owasanoye, the money was restrained and the funds were retained within the system when Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) was alerted on the leakages.

He explained that the first step taken by IPPIS to block the leakages was the initiation and conclusion of third party deductions within the same time by role players to stem editing and manipulation by the MDAs.

ICPC Chair said that the second step taken by the Government Integrated Financial and Management Information System ( GIFMIS) was the deactivation of MDAs’ Role Players from performing personnel related transactions on GIFMIS, thereby blocking all personnel budget lines of IPPIS MDAs.

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Recalling that the Commission in it’s 2019 SSR mopped up a total sum of N42b unspent personnel cost in MDAs portal,
Owasanoy disclosed that the ICPC further mopped up another N147b in 2020 respectively.

He explained that the Minister of Finance through findings of the Commission of the wrong application of Personnel Cost on Overhead and Capital item issued a negative Warrant to mop up excess cash available in the Personnel Cost of the MDAs to forestall further misapplication of funds.

Adding that a similar Warrant was issued in 2020 totaling N147b which he said was a huge savings to Government.

According to the ICPC boss the practice of late releases of budget allocation, especially at the end of the year is raising opportunity for frenzied expenditure, circumvention of procedure, fraud and corruption and advised government to desist from it.

He stated further: “MDAs should be advised to issue financial reports on time to enable completion of annual audit and publishing of result on time. Sanctions should be introduced for inordinate delays.

“Appropriated funds should be released in time to allow for strict compliance with procurement procedure. Otherwise deferred till following fiscal year as government is a continuum.

“The Year 2020 has been a challenging year with the devastating effect of COVID-19 leading to low revenue, low crude sales, low economic activities and recession among others, hence the importance of blocking leakages and wastages within the system.

“The infractions established in the course of our several SSRs constitute the risks and building blocks for the inefficient public expenditure and pervasive corruption that bedevil our public finance.

“The continuity of these infractions challenges our professed political will to deal with impunity characterised by disobedience of laws and regulations.

“This is an existential threat to the nation and it has already negatively impacted stability and development because funds appropriated for major infrastructure and development projects are simply diverted or mismanaged the same way thus diminishing the hope of the people and the plans and programs of government.

“It starts with those of us in this room. This impunity cannot continue ad infinitum.

“Nigeria cannot and will not survive it. We are at a turning point with a global pandemic whose end is uncertain, reduced public revenue but escalating citizen expectation, youth restiveness, insecurity and lack of or decaying critical infrastructure.

“In all of this government is striving to put money in the right place for the benefit of the people. The least we can do is to ensure that the expectations of the government and the people are met and we get value for money.

“We believe that infractions can no longer be ignored or excused on the pedestal of everyone is doing it.

“ICPC is already investigating and prosecuting a number of egregious cases and we will escalate that position.

“We have got to the point where we will prosecute without discrimination public officers found with any, including the simplest of infractions, so that we entrench zero tolerance for budget execution inefficiency which breeds corruption.

“DFAs and DIAs are by training professionals of the highest quality of knowledge in the sector, and by your level of authority capable of enforcing compliance with these rules down the line.

“The country should no longer slide into poverty if only you will be firm and refuse to tolerate culpability from anyone starting with yourselves. If this system is to be sanitized and scarce Government resources is to do more with less you have to play your leadership role.

“We ask you all to work with us and commit to policing the system and driving this sanitization and reformation of the system to enable government meet its obligations to the public.

“It begins with you not with anyone else. We are ready to support anyone with challenge and to uphold the transparency and integrity of our systems and processes. We owe it to ourselves and we owe it to our children and the future of our nation.

“The ICPC will continue to collaborate with all critical stakeholders towards entrenching integrity in the polity and in public finance management and governance particularly.”