Senate To Probe CBN N240.2b Unauthorised Spending

THE Senate will, next week, debate a motion seeking a probe of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over indications that the apex bank has spent over N240.2 billion without appropriation between 2009 and 2013.

The motion, being sponsored by the chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Ita Enang, was contained in the Senate Notice Paper, which was originally to be taken on February 5, the day the Senate adjourned to enable its members to participate in the registration exercise of All Progressives Congress (APC).
Details presented by Senator Enang, as contained in the notice paper, indicated that the CBN spent over 240.2 billion on intervention projects between 2009 and 2013, whereas the projects were not authorised and appropriated for.
The document also indicated that only three of the 21 projects embarked upon by the CBN were certified by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), in accordance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
In the motion, Enang noted that sections 22(1) and 23(1) of the CBN Act mandated the apex bank to operate a general reserve fund to which it shall allocate one-fifth of its operating surplus.
The Act, according to the motion, also mandated the bank to pay the balance of its operating surplus to the consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federal Government not later than one month, following the statutory deadline for publishing each corporation’s accounts.
The motion also indicated that the surplus shall be classified as a Federal Treasury Reserve.
It further indicated that only three projects, including the N9.5 billion intervention  at the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Badagry, Lagos; the N2.9 billion intervention in the Federal Medical Centre, Azare, Bauchi State and the N10.042 billion intervention projects at the University of Abuja were procured according to the BPP Act.
Other projects embarked upon by the CBN without National Assembly appropriation included the N98 billion development of hotels and commercial facilities and the proposed International Convention Centre of the CBN; development of Centres of Excellence at the University of Jos at N9.5 billion; University of Port Harcourt, at N10.2 billion; University of Nigeria, Nsukka, at N6.4 billion; University of Lagos at N14.8 billion; University of Ibadan at N6.8 billion, as well as the intervention project at the Uthman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, at N10 billion, among others.
The motion further stated that the CBN apparently ran foul of the Act setting it up, which assigned to it some basic functions.
The motion, therefore, asked the Senate to ascertain the mandate its committees of Finance, Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters had to conduct a public hearing on the loss of revenue into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation through evasion of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, acting against and beyond the mandate given by law to the agencies, breach and evasion of public procurement laws and regulations, among others.