Alleged unremitted N45bn: Reps tells SEC, FRC to reconcile

The House of Representative Public Accounts Committee has given an opportunity to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Fiscal Responsibility Commission to amicably settle the differences on the alleged non-remittance of over N45 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Chairman of the Committee, Bamidele Salam gave the directive on Monday in Abuja during the Committee’s public hearing on leakages of government revenue.

The FRC had alleged the SEC did not respond to its report issued in 2022 where N45b unremiited operating surplus was recorded against the Commission from 2007 to 2021.

The Director General of SEC, Lamido Yuguda, while reacting to the allegation said the Commission had reconciled its operating surplus with the office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

“I think if the FRC had actually done a little more work, they would have seen from the OAGF all the efforts that we have made to reconcile the surplus figures from 2007 when FRSC came into being, “ the Director General told the Committee.

The SEC Team had evidences of the remittances it had made in the past as proof to back its argument of not being culpable of the allegation and it is ready to provide every document that was required of it by the Committee. The SEC report revealed.

According to the report, a review of the documents submitted by the SEC to the Committee reveals that they have actually made all submissions and payments and this was corroborated by the representative of the Office of the Account General of the Federation who also informed the Committee of the regular reconciliation exercise between it and SEC.

“Fact reveals that the Lamido led Management has transformed the account of the Commission from deficit balance recorded over the years to operating a surplus as a result of the transformations and policies introduced into the capital market”, the report stated.

After much defence from both parties, the Committee unanimously told the SEC and FRC to go and reconcile the differences then revert back to the Committee after 21 days for a final resolution on the issue.

Iheanyi Nwachukwu

Iheanyi Nwachukwu, is a creative content writer with almost two decades journalism experience writing on banking, finance, capital markets, and tax. The multiple awards winning journalist is Assistant Editor, BusinessDay. Iheanyi holds BSc Degree in Economics from Imo State University; Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Management from University of Lagos. Iheanyi has attended several work-related trainings including (i) Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (Pan African University, Lagos); (ii) News Agency Journalism (Indian Institute of Mass Communication {IIMC}, New Delhi, India); and (iii) Capital Markets Development and Regulations (International Law Institute {ILI} of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA). Other trainings Iheanyi attended include: Economic/Political Risk Analysis (By Thomson Reuters Foundation); International Financial Journalism (IFJ) (By PMA Media Training, UK); Effective Business Writing Skills (By Phillips Consulting); Reporting on Corporate Governance (By International Finance Corporation (IFC) & Thomson Reuters Foundation UK); etc. In addition, he has participated in high-level economy & markets events in Dubai, South Africa, Morocco, and other African countries like Zambia, Ghana and Gambia.