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Reps query CBN for renovating office with N2.8billion

By on May 8, 2013

The Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives on Tuesday queried several expenditure incurred by the Central Bank of Nigeria totalling N4.7bn, especially the renovation of its Port Harcourt branch with N2.8bn.

The committee, which is considering audit queries raised by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, said the bank had yet to offer convincing explanations on how the “huge expenditure was incurred.”

At a session with officials of the bank in Abuja, the Chairman of the committee, Mr. Solomon Olamilekan, cited the N2.8bn the bank claimed to have spent on the renovation of its Port Harcourt branch as one example of the extravagant expenditures.

Olamilekan said the expenditures were allegedly incurred without documents to support them and “giving indication that due process was not followed.”

The committee gave the bank a 48-hour ultimatum to produce documents to defend the spending.

Another N23m was reportedly spent on the renovation of the residence of the governor of the bank, while a separate N50m was quoted for the same purpose.

The committee noted that in a period of less than four years, contract for the renovation the building was awarded for N74m and subsequently reviewed upwards to N79.6m.

The committee did not mention the governors under whose tenures the contracts were awarded, but it said the audit queries covered “several years.”

It also said the bank bought a property worth N848m for the National Planning Commission.

According to the committee, the expenditure has no transaction agreements.

The Deputy Governor, Corporate Service, CBN, Mr. Suleiman Barau, who led other officials to the meeting, responded that he was not at the bank when the expenditures were incurred, but promised to search for the documents and forward them to the lawmakers.

“I was not in the office when all this happened. I am only defending the institution,” he said.

On his part, the Director of Procurement, CBN, Mr. I. O. Gbadamosi, claimed that many of the documents might be difficult to trace because the bank usually cleared its shelves every five years.

But, the committee gave the bank two options, either to produce the documents or it would recommend the refund of the money spent into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.

 

 

 

[Punch]

2 Comments

  1. DJN

    May 8, 2013 at 5:02 pm

    “On his part, the Director of Procurement, CBN, Mr. I. O. Gbadamosi, claimed that many of the documents might be difficult to trace because the bank usually cleared its shelves every five years.”

    If he actually said that, then he, and his boss need to be fired asap. I’ve never heard of a financial institution, let alone a Central Bank, saying they’ve lost records of their budget or payments. Mind boggling!

  2. Nse Otobong

    May 9, 2013 at 11:06 am

    the NASS or whatever they called have got it all wrong. Renovation? Noo. It wasnt renovation, it was resructring. and its public knowldege that such a project ws carried out. we resident of Abuja are aware that such a huge project was actually carreid out.