Written by Jacob Segun Olatunji and Kolawole Daniel, Abuja
Wednesday, 04 July 2012
THE House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, on Tuesday, ordered the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) management board to pay the sum of N27,051,618,579 into the Federal Government’s coffers within three months, being the 80 per cent of the operating surpluses of the agency for the period of five years.
The committee also directed the board to refund another N20.22 million within the same period, for expenses incurred on a plot of land acquired in 2001 for its corporate head office, but which was revoked by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) in 2006.
The chairman of the committee, Honourable Solomon Adeola, who handed down the order on Tuesday, when the management of the board, led by its Executive Secretary, Mrs Adefunke Kasali, appeared before it on the various audit queries from the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation from 2007 to 2011.
The chairman, however, advised the board to head for a court of competent jurisdiction to challenge the order of the committee, if not satisfied with its position, saying that the decision was based on the submission of the board, along with the supporting relevant documents.
He gave the board one week within to furnish the committee some vital documents relating to the operations of the agency, as well as its audited finacial accounts for the past five years.
Efforts by Mrs Kasali to justify reasons the agency was holding the amount, which she claimed belonged to oil marketers, were turned down on the basis that the board had no power whatsoever to do so.
SOURCE: Nigerian Tribune, 4 July 2012. http://tribune.com.ng
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