THE Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has been accused of committing multiple acts of fraud, ranging from its inability to account for over N5 billion to the payment for a road contract without evidence of execution.

These were contained in the 2022 Auditor-General of the Federation (AGF) Report seen by Economy Post, which alleged that a contract valued at N98.179 million was awarded to a contractor for the provision of road infrasttructure in Adadu-Agbashi in Dona Local Government Area of Nasarawa State without evidence of execution.

The AGF alleged that the contractor was paid N68.725 million and another N29.453 million vide payment vouchers numbers 300143 C and 30018 B dated March 25,2021 and December 24, 2021 respectively. However, there was no asphalt on the road as contained in the bill of quantity and the road was under construction by the Nasarawa State government as of the time the contract was awarded.

The AGF further alleged that there was no evidence of job completion certificate by the Director of General Services or any other authorised personnel for the period, as enshrined in the contract agreement.

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“There was no evidence that the contract was executed,” the AGF noted, stating that the act by the ministry led to loss of government funds and diversion of government funds.

While the ministry responded to the AGF queries and claimed that it was a constituency project that was duly executed, the AGF noted that the response was not satisfactory and recommended that the permanent secretary account to the Public Accounts of the National Assembly the payment of N98.179 million while remitting the money to the nation’s treasury.

The permanent secretary of the ministry must forward evidence of remittance to the committees, failure of which must attract sanctions as specified in paragraphs 3104 and 3106 of Financial Regulations (2009), the AGF said. Dr Oluwatoyin Akinlade was the permanent secretary of the ministry at this time.

Olamilekan Adegbite was the Minister of Mines and Steel Development from 2019 to 2023.

Foreign tour without approval

The AGF also accused the ministry of paying N30.873 million as estacode and travel allowances for foreign trips between March and October 2022 without approval by Head of the Civil Service of the Federation or Secreatary to the Government of the Federation.

Though the ministry attached the pictorial evidence to show that the trip was embarked upon, the AGF wasn’t satisfied. AGF said the permanent secretary of the ministry must recover the N30.873 million and return it to the treasury, failure of which must attract sanctions as specified in Paragraph 3109 of Financial Regulations.

Non-recovery of govt assets held by consultants

The AGF further alleged that N88.687 million was paid to a consultant vide the voucher number MMSD/CAP/430/22 on February 21, 2022, for the formalisation/mainstreaming of artianal miners in the North-West and North-East zones. The MMSD, the AGF noted, provided a lump sum of N58.550 million for the purchase of equipment for the consultancy service. “The possession of the required equipment for the services should have been a pre-condition for the contract award,” the nation’s chief auditor said.

“The consultant was not given a contract for the supply of the equipment but was provided with a lump sum of N58,550,000 for the purchase of the equipment, and as such, the the price per item should have been disclosed. Items listed on the SRV No B. 2403 and B. 2404, all dated 1st February 2022, did not disclose the unit prices by the consultant,” the AGF revealed.

“Delivering the equipment/instrument without their unit prices does not demonstrate transparency and accountability,” the nation’s chief auditor stated, noting that the selective tendering method was adopted to pick the consultant from the list of 5 bidders, and details of their respective bids were not disclosed.

The AGF also disclosed that the contract agreement by the ministry dated December 23, 2021, did not disclose the equipment purchase nor include the use of equipment purchased with public funds by the contractor. “The contract award letter dated 15th November, 2021 concealed the cost of equip[ment/ instruments.”

THE AGF disclosed that equipment valued at N79.050 million was not returned to the ministry by three consultants, leading to the loss of government assets and the conversion of government assets for personal use.

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The AGF urged the permanent secretary to account for N79.050 milllion to the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly, while recovering and remitting the money to the treasury, failure of which should attract sanctions in line with paragraphs 3129 and 3113 of the Financial Regulations (2009).

The AGF likewise alleged irregularies in the award of ministry’s contracts worth N85.528 million, and the circumvention of procurement process valued at N224.068 million. The AGF said the Minsitry of Mines and Steel Development could not account for a humongous N5.356 billion worth of contracts. It also denied the office access to documents involving beneficiaries of mining licenses, including their addresses, business premises, type or class or license as well as year of grant.

Economy Post had earlier reported that the AGF had accused the National Pension Commission (PenCom) of paying N7.261 billion to 2,863 unidentified beneficiaries of deceased Federal Government employees in 2022 through different Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) without details.

He also accused the National Assembly Service Commission of inflating a contract worth N11.647 billion while paying a contractor without approval.