Reps give former NPA boss, others seven days ultimatum over unaudited accounts 

The House of Representatives has summoned a former Managing Director of Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Habib Abdullahi and Director of Finance and Accounts of the agency to appear before it within seven days over the inability to audit the account of the agency for four years consecutively.

Chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts, Wole Oke gave the ultimatum Tuesday at resumed investigative hearing of the Committee on failure of the over 300 Ministries, Departments and  Agencies, (MDAs) to render audited accounts to the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation as required by the law since 2014 to date.

The Committee also summoned the immediate past Director-General, Solid Mineral Development Fund (SMDF), Mahi Ahmed and his counterpart at the National Teachers Institute Kaduna, Aminu Ladan-Salihu, two former Director Gederal of the Nigerian French Language Village, Badagry Lagos, a former Director of Finance and Account of Center for Citizenship, Henry Akincbola and Leadership Training Abuja and other officers of the agency to appear before it.

The Committee which grilled the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala-Usman and Chief Executive Officers of other MDAs over their inability to render their audited accounts to the Auditor-General’s office as at an when due threatened the officials concerned to be ready to refund to the Federal Government all salaries and allowances paid to them while in office since they had failed woefully to perform their official responsibilities.

Bala-Usman on her part said the Agency had submitted its last audited accounts up to 2016 and was only awaiting  the Board’s approval for the 2017 and 2018 audit reports to be submitted to the office of the Auditor General of the Federation

She however said the Board of the Agency was dissolved and the new one would be inaugurated before the end of this week after which the report would be presented for the Board’s consideration.

But the committee frowned at the delay in the submission of the report and the signing of previous years audit report by the agency and consequently placed it under status enquiry for thorough investigation.

The Committee also gave her a seven-day ultimatum within which to submit the audited accounts of the Agency to the new Board on inuaguration for approval and for eventual submission to the office of the Auditor General of the Federation.

For NTI Kaduna, the Committee directed both its Director General and Bursar to refund all salaries and benefits collected to the federal government for their failure in their official responsibilities while the Director-General of the Solid Mineral Development Funds was given a seven day ultimatum to render financial accounts to the office of the Auditor General of the Federation or face sanctions.