Drama as DG disowns director over N17.8m expenditure
Drama ensued at a session of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts on Thursday when the Director-General of the National Office of Technology Acquisition and Documents Promotion, Alhaji Umar Bindir, disowned his Director of Finance, Mr. J.N. Useni, over a N17.8m expenditure by the agency, Punch has reported.
The money, according to the report was withdrawn from the controversial Service Wide Vote and paid to the agency between 2004 and 2012.
The SWV is managed on behalf of the Federal Government by the Budget Office of the Federation.
The committee, which is headed by Hon. Solomon Olamilekan Adeola has been investigating how Ministries, Departments and Agencies spent funds released to them from the SWV during the period under review.
The National Office of Technology Acquisition and Documents Promotion collected a total of N39.34m between 2004 and 2012.
The N17.8m was part of the N39.34m and the agency specifically applied for it in the excuse of augmenting the arrears of salaries of workers.
Useni had earlier made a submission to the committee, claiming that the management of the agency approved the request.
But, when he appeared on Thursday, the DG disassociated himself from the claim of his DAF.
Bindir, who expressed shock over the matter, told the committee that he actually instructed that the N17.8m should be returned to the budget office, while he queried the officials, who applied for the money without management’s approval.
“The application for the N17.8m was written to the Director of Budget Office by the DFA without my consent.
“I did not sign for the money when it was released and it was returned back to the Federation Accounts, while a query was issued to the officials who wrote the application without approval,” he stated.
On listening to his remarks, members of the committee said they suspected foul play.
The lawmakers observed that the officials seemed to be presenting “false claims.”
The committee later resolved that the DG should produce all the documents that initiated and concluded the transaction.