How lawmakers, civil servants divert committee funds for personal use – Natasha Akpoti

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has alleged that lawmakers and civil servants in the National Assembly routinely divert committee funds meant for operational expenses into personal accounts.

Speaking on AriseTV Morning Show, in response to a petition filed against her by a northern group, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who previously chaired the Senate Committee on Local Content, dismissed the allegations as baseless but provided insight into the financial mismanagement she encountered during her tenure.

The petition from the Northern Youths Advocacy for Excellence (NOYAD) to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, which was shared on her Instagram page, accuses Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of corruption, abuse of power, and mistreatment of staff within the Senate Committee on Local Content, which she leads.

The petition further alleges financial mismanagement and blackmail against oil and gas industry stakeholders, citing multiple accusations, including the diversion of committee funds, staff intimidation, and extortion of oil and gas companies.

It claimed that she sidelined the Committee Clerk, Ms. Edith Ajah, and allegedly misappropriated funds meant for committee activities. Additionally, the document accuses her of pressuring oil and gas companies to provide financial contributions and other favors under the pretext of supporting committee operations.

The petition also asserts that her leadership created a hostile work environment for Senate staff, resulting in internal grievances.

It states, in part, that evidence indicates Senator Natasha enriched herself through intimidation, unauthorized public engagements, and regulatory violations.

Furthermore, NOYAD alleges that she had no genuine commitment to the Local Content mandate and was instead focused on exploiting businesses.

The petition claims that she undermined the rights of the Committee Clerk, rendering the committee nearly dysfunctional. It also alleges that her authoritarian approach peaked when she orchestrated the dismissal of the Clerk for refusing to participate in financial misconduct.

NOYAD has called on the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions to conduct a thorough investigation into the senator’s alleged illegal and coercive actions and to impose appropriate legal and disciplinary measures.

Responding to the allegations, the senator noted that each committee in the National Assembly receives a monthly allocation of ₦950,000 for running costs.

Read also: It’s time to break my silence on Akpabio’s leadership — Akpoti-Uduaghan 

However, she was informed by the committee clerk that the usual practice was to share the funds among committee members and staff instead of using them for official purposes.

“When I resumed as chair, the clerk approached me and said the first month’s payment had come in. When I inquired about its purpose, she explained that it was for logistics, mail dispatches, and refreshments. But since we had not held any meetings, I suggested that the money remain in the account,” Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan said.

She further revealed that the clerk insisted that the money was traditionally shared among committee members, including the chairperson, deputy chairperson, and staff.

The senator, however, declined to partake in the practice, stating that taxpayers’ money should not be used for personal enrichment.

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan said, “The money is usually shared. I, as a chairperson, will take part in it. I will give some to my deputy, and the rest of the money will be shared amongst the staff of the local content committee.

“And I was like, did you say that is what happens? She said, Yes, that is what my predecessor did, and that is what happens in all the committees in the National Assembly. I said, well, you know what? That money, if it’s meant to service the operations of the committee, it’s not meant to enrich the pockets of the staff.

“I would not want to collect this so-called impress. So I would advise that you keep that money in the account, and we will build the money.

“We use it for whatever it’s needed. If we have to buy office equipment, print stationeries, then we use that money. And I promise this, and the bank statement is here.”

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan disclosed that at the time she assumed office, the committee’s account had a zero balance but had grown to ₦13,649,335 by the time she left office.

However, she alleged that after her departure, ₦5 million was withdrawn by the clerk, followed by another ₦4.9 million, leaving only ₦123,000 in the account.

“Ever since I left office, the money has been withdrawn. About ₦5 million was withdrawn, and two days after my removal, another ₦4.9 million was withdrawn,” she alleged.

She added, “We have gradually built the account. There was a time I approved the money last year for the purchase of a printer because it made no sense that we kept on spending so much money printing outside. I was like, you know what? Let us have a printer in-house. We bought a printer.

“We also have printed lots of materials. But, the money, I never took a cobble out of that in the name of impress. I never gave my deputy then, any impress he can verify and attest to that.”

The senator also defended her decision to review the credentials of committee staff, arguing that the Local Content Committee required qualified lawyers and auditors to effectively oversee oil and gas industry regulations.

She explained that her request to assess the CVs of committee members was meant to ensure efficiency and accountability, not to harass staff, as alleged by the petitioners.

She stated, “Now, the second allegation there is that I questioned, I harassed the clerk, and I tried to I called for the CVs of the staff. Now, this is it.

“I believe that the committee was set to oversee the operations of all the IOCs and the national industry players and also strengthen in-country capacity with regards to oil, the oil and gas sector.

“So such a committee needs the services of lawyers and auditors, because we have to look at a whole lot of accounts and how monies are being spent, monies that are due to strengthen the educational and training sectors, how they are being spent. So one thing, again, the clerk told me was that we needed to deploy the services of an external consultant, and I told her, I was like, why do we have to deploy the services of an external consultant when we have in-house staff?

“The committee on local content had about 10 or 11 staff at a time, and I was like, we should be able to do this job ourselves.

“I am a lawyer. I can do my own part wherever one needs to refer to the constitution or to the act as it may, and I believe we should have supporting lawyers, we should have auditors, we should have accountants amongst the staff.

“So I asked her for the CVs so that I could look, and then amongst them, I can write to the clerk of the senate and say, you know what, can you swap this person because I want to have an effective team to operate.

“So if that is what they say, harassment, then so be it.”