Follow Us on Google
Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has queried the Ministry of Power over alleged N7 billion extra-budgetary expenditure on Kashimbila power project in the 2015 fiscal year.
The committee at its investigative hearing, yesterday, also demanded an explanation on the N2 billion deposited in Aso Savings and Loans Limited by the ministry since 2013.
Consequently, the panel summoned the management of Aso Savings and Loans Limited to appear over the N2 billion deposit, which the ministry claimed was for staff housing scheme.
The bank is expected to explain to the panel the whereabouts of the fund and the interests that has accrued over the years.
The lawmakers also summoned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to appear before it over the deposit.
However, Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Power, Didi Esther Wilson-Jack, who was at the hearing, told the lawmakers that the N7billion was a special intervention given to the ministry in 2015 for Kashimbila hydropower project.
He said the fund was not captured in the ministry’s 2015 budget, noting that the ministry obtained the approval of the Accountant General of the Federation to lodge the money into four commercial banks.
She added that when the government introduced the Treasury Single Account (TSA), the N7 billion was moved from the commercial banks to the ministry’s TSA account.
The Permanent Secretary stated that the ministry was making efforts to recover the N2billion it deposited in Aso Savings and Loans Limited.
According to her, the ministry had already reported the bank to the CBN over alleged violation of banking regulation.
Wilson-Jack, while responding to the Auditor General of the Federation query on a N30 million alleged extra-budgetary expenditure on the World Energy Summit which took place in 2015, explained that “two approvals was made for the World Energy Summit. One was N44.671 million for the acquisition of space and construction of pavilion. But as a result of paucity of funds, only N39.446 million was released and duly retired.”
