15 Agencies Failed To Account For N8.1tn Under Jonathan – Minister

Fifteen revenue-generating agencies of the Federal Government failed to remit N8.1 trillion to the Federation Account between 2010 and 2015, the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, has said.

The Minister said this in Osogbo, Osun State, on Monday while inaugurating the channelisation, de-silting, flood control and development of Okoko and Ogbagba Rivers, phases one and two, on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari, a statement by his Special Adviser, Mr Segun Adeyemi, said.

According to the minister, auditing firm KPMG discovered the failure to make the remittances to the government.

He was quoted as saying, “Recently, the Federal Government ordered an audit (between 2010 and 2015) of 15 government revenue generating agencies. The result was the discovery that the agencies had not remitted over 8.1 trillion Naira to the Federation Account. This amount is about six times the N1.34 trillion that was stolen between 2006 and 2015.

”It is also the equivalent, on the average, of the country’s yearly national budget! Imagine, for a moment, how many kilometres of roads could have been constructed, how many kilometres of rail tracks that could have been laid, and how many modern hospitals and schools that could have been built if that money had been properly accounted for,” Alhaji Mohammed said.

He told the large crowd at the event in Osun that the Buhari Administration’s fight against corruption remains very critical because it will free the much-needed resources for national development.

Mr Mohammed explained that the funds looted by previous administrations could have funded the projects being executed by the current administration.

”This is why we will not stop talking about those who have looted the public treasury, despite the pushback from their apologists,” he said. If we do not stop the looting of the treasury, there will be no money for the kind of projects we are commissioning here in Osogbo today.”

The Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, backed the minister disclosure on the non-remittance of funds by agencies under the past administration.

According to the governor, his state’s share of the said amount is N75 billion which would have been more than enough to pay all civil servants their salaries and complete all infrastructural projects of the government.