The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has discovered N14.7 billion in privatization earnings from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) that the Bureau of Public Enterprises allegedly stashed in commercial banks (BPE).
According to the report seen by Freelanews, the Committee chaired by Senator Matthew Urhoghide relied on the 2017 Auditor General’s report to uncover the hidden fund in commercial banks as of December 31, 2016, despite the fact that PHCN’s privatization has been completed since 2013.
The query reads, “Audit verification and reconciliation revealed that the sum of N14,720,396,432.43 (Fourteen billion, seven hundred and twenty million, three hundred and ninety-six thousand, four hundred and thirty-two naira, forty-three kobo), being proceeds from PHCN was reported in the Bureau’s trial balance to be in commercial bank accounts as at 31st December 2016.
“Whereas the privatization of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was concluded in 2013, the proceeds are yet to be remitted to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Privatization Proceeds Accounts.
“The issue has been communicated to the Bureau via letter reference No. OAuGF/RESAD/05/2016/07 dated 19th April 2018, and no response has been received.
“Unauthorised funds kept in commercial banks may be diverted for other purposes, thereby leading to loss of revenue available for government programmes.
“The Director-General is required to recover the sum of N14,720,396,432.43 being proceeds of PHCN and remit same to CRF and forward evidence of remittance to my office for audit confirmation.”
However, reacting to this claim, the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) in its written submission said, “Two separate sums of N3.231,984.73 (allegedly held in Fidelity Bank PLC) and N18.199,520.87 (reportedly held in Stanbic Bank PLC) are unaudited bank balances that were actually no longer in existence as at the date of the audited financial statements.
“With respect to the two other bank balances of N4.4 billion held in Access Bank PLC, and N10.2 billion in FCMB, the correct balance in Access Bank as of 31 December 2016, was NIL as the bank had transferred a balance of $34.1 million to the CBN domiciliary account.
“The bank had initially been unable to make the transfer as of September 2015 as required under TSA policy, owing to the inexistence of designated USD Treasury Single Account for dollar balances.
“The balance in the FCMB Bank as of 31 December 2016, was only $36,053.55 following a transfer of $65,088,198.53.
” The residual balance remained until 2017 due to inability of the bank to remit as required under the TSA policy owing to initial unavailability of designated TSA for USD balances as required under the then newly introduced policy. “
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