Recently, the Federal Government has reacted to non-remittances of funds running into trillions of naira into Consolidation Revenue Account by revenue generating agencies for some years now, oyogist.com reports.
While speaking on Thursday on TVC, Babajide Kolade Otitoju opined that: Even if they are auditors, by the time they are through with their training, they send them there. They will go and constitute them themselves into members of cabals. That would ensure that the non-remittances continue. You know the level of corruption in the civil service. They are the one who teaches the politicians how to steal because they know how to steal neatly and get away with it.
Now, the politicians come a green horn with no experience about processes and procedures. They will now teach the politicians. When the politicians are now up into that position. Then, he does not need to be tutored anymore. He now becomes the master of the game. And then, the same civil servants who taught him how to play the game will be looking for ways of kicking them into touch as it is football.
So, this is the thing. I believe that we have to leverage on technology. It is only technology that can help us to block some of the loopholes through which these resources are leaking. This would atleast reduce the level of leakage.
Remember even before Kemi Adeosun, Former Finance Minister, resigned, they had this with NNPC. Adeosun then insisted that goverment should intervene because they were not remitting what they were supposed to remit. There is a high level of corruption.
What agencies are to remit and are not remitting;
•Nigeria Communications Commision.
•Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria.
•Federal Inland Revenue Service.
•Nigerian Port Authority.
•Nigerian National Petroleum Commision.
•Nigerian Customs Service.
•Directorate of Petroleum Resources.
•Nigerian Shippers Council.
•Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agencies, NIMASA.
•NIMASA is richer than 5 to 6 states put together.
Now, one of those agencies mentioned here is FAAN. The House of Representatives uncovered the fact that FAAN did not remit #65billion between 2014, and 2019. FAAN should have remitted #74billion to #86billion but it remitted #9billlion.
What James Faleke led House of Reps committe discovered is that these agencies figures did not tally with figures from the Accountant General office regarding what was supposed to come in. So, in 2015, #10.8billion was supposed to come in but only #2.15billion came in.
•In 2016, #11.6billion was supposed to come in, but only #1.5billion came in.
•In 2017, #13.9billion was supposed to come in, but only #1.5billion came in.
•In 2018, #18billion was supposed to come in, but only #1.788billion came in.
•In 2019, #15.49billion was supposed to come in, but #1.35billion was what came in.
And the House of Reps said you did not build new airports. What did you do with the money?
We must make it extremely difficult for people to get away with corruption by a structure that stop it in place. Don’t let corruption takes place in the first place.
Look at country like Isreal, their Prime Minister is on trial for corruption. They gave sent their former Prime Minister to prison.
I cannot find words to describe people do this to their country. This is because a lot of these people have been trained by our country, sent abroad and trained sufficiently. And rather than give back to the country positively.
Babajide Kolade-Otitoju comments follow a recent report made by Fiscal Responsibility Commision. In the report, it said 122 Federation Government agencies failed to remit #1.2trillion into Consolidation Revenue Fund(CRF).
The Fiscal Responsibility Act makes it mandatory for Federal Government agencies to remit their operating surplus after each fiscal year.
