Customs boss, auditor-general differ over N28bn remittances

Members of the Senate Committee on Public Finance were held spell- bound yesterday as the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Hammed Ali and Auditor-General of the Federation, Anthony Ayine disagreed over the alleged difference of N28 billion in the 2015 audited account of the Nigeria Customs Service.

A report from the office of the auditor general of the federation on the 2015 audited accounts of state -owned enterprises being investigated by the committee revealed differentials of N28 billion allegedly under-remitted into the federation account by the customs.

The audited report showed that the customs remitted N185 billion as against the sum of N157 billion in the chief accountant’s document, prompting the auditor-general to query the accountant general to explain the differentials in the amount remitted by the customs and the figure contained in his own records.

The accountant general of the federation, who was represented by a Director in his office, Feyintola Olusegun, had earlier referred the auditor-general and the Senate panel to the customs for clarification.

Appearing before the Senate probe panel headed by Senator Matthew Uroghide on Thursday, the customs chief absolved the agency of any infraction.

According to Ali, the query in question was strange to the service because the mode used by the customs to collect revenues is automated.

“For anybody to be pointing at us; then there is a problem,” he said.

But, in a twist, the accountant-general of the federation explained that the N28 billion was for ECOWAS stabilization fund for 2015.

Members of the probe panel picked hole in his submission, pointing out that the accountant general failed to reflect this in his earlier written submission to the Senate committee and was unable to provide documentary evidence to back up his claim.

On the query of non -remittance of pension fund, Ali admitted that the service defaulted in 2015 because it did not have sufficient funds to meet up with the obligation.

This was as the accountant general came under fire over unpaid domestic loan of N37.8 billion borrowed from 10 per cent rice level account for urgent expenditure in 2013.

The Senate panel questioned why the accountant general failed to include the loan in the budget since then, a loan from which the customs benefitted N4.5 billion from. Other beneficiaries of the unpaid loan are INEC, PHCN and NIMCOMSAT.

The Senate panel however, asked the accountant general to come forward with details of the loan that can help it conclude its probe.