The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) is under scrutiny by the Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC) for its expenditure of N17.158 billion in 2013, as the committee alleges that the management failed to produce relevant documents to justify the spending.
According to the Nation, some of the documents to back the expenses were reportedly destroyed by termites.
In the 2018 audit report of the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation (OAuGF), which is being considered by the Senate panel chaired by Senator Matthew Urhoghide (Edo South), the agency was questioned over the disbursed sums without appropriate supporting documents.
The OAuGF’s report revealed that the N17.158 billion was transferred by NSITF from its Skye and First Bank accounts into various untraceable accounts belonging to individuals and companies between January and December 2013.
The audit report raised 50 different queries against NSITF for alleged misappropriation of funds.
One of the queries from the AuGF states that the management of NSITF transferred significant amounts to individuals and companies from its accounts without providing payment vouchers and supporting documents for audit, violating Financial Regulation 601.
The Senate Committee, chaired by Urhoghide, summoned past and present managements of NSITF to explain the alleged transfers, but no satisfactory explanations with necessary documents were provided.
Dr. Michael Akabogu, the current Managing Director of NSITF, claimed that the relevant cash vouchers were not in the organization’s custody, stating that the container where the documents were kept may have been damaged by termites and rain, as directed by the committee.
Mallam Umar Munir Abubakar, who served as the Managing Director of NSITF from 2010 to 2016, claimed he had no explanations to render as the audit exercise was not carried out during his tenure.
Mr. Adebayo Somefun, who succeeded Abubakar and headed the agency from May 2017 to July 2020, insisted that the agency’s account section should be able to trace the missing documents.
The current General Manager Finance of the agency stated that the container in question had been abandoned in an isolated area within the organization’s premises in Abuja.
Urhoghide expressed concern over the situation and ordered both past and present managements of NSITF to re-appear before the panel with all necessary evidence concerning the transactions on Thursday, September 22, 2022.
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