The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has expressed displeasure over its discovery of five years unaudited accounts of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMB) and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TEFFUND).
Rep Oluwole Oke, Chairman of the Committee, conveyed the committee’s anger at the investigative hearing on audit queries by the Auditor-General of Federation (AGF) of Ministries Department and Agencies of government, on Thursday, in Abuja.
Oke said that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) had not paid their respective 30 per cent and 20 per cent equity capital as shareholders of the bank, as stipulated by the FMB establishment Act.
The Committee queried the Managing Director of FMB, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa and other officials of the bank on the five years unaudited accounts, while noting that the audit queries raised by the AGF on the MDAs, had shown that their revenue profiles were on the decline.
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Oke expressed dissatisfaction with non-compliance of the agencies to the extant provisions of the laws on audited accounts, in spite of previous appearances before the committee on the contentious issue.
Responding, Dangiwa explained that the Federal Government had paid N60 million out of the N1.5 billion, being its share of equity in the bank, adding that the audited accounts were ready, but awaiting the approval of the bank’s board.
He said that the present management of the bank inherited the five years unaudited accounts from its predecessor, but had made efforts to clear them.
The managing director also explained that the federal government owned 50 per cent of FMB, with the CBN owning 30 per cent, while the NSITF’s share was 20 per cent, of the bank’s percentage equity shareholding.