UNSPENT FUNDS: ICPC RECOVERS N216.7M FROM RMRDC

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has recovered N216.7 million from the Raw Materials Research and Developing Council (RMRDC). The said amount, according to the ICPC Resident Consultant, Media and Event, Folu Olamiti, was the unspent recurrent budget of the council between 2006 and 2010.

Olamiti further said the revelation was contained in a report of a study review exercise carried out by the anti-graft agency meant to ensure full compliance and strict adherence to government's policies on remittance of unspent balances at the end of financial year. 'The total recovered from the council had been paid into the ICPC recovery account domicile with one of the old generation banks in the country.

'Besides, the backlog of un-remitted taxes: Value Added Tax (VAT) and Withholding Tax (WHT) amounting to N21.9 million for the periods of October 2009 to December 2010, had also been remitted directly to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) by the council as directed by ICPC.' The report indicated that during the same period (2006-2010), the council's total Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from the various sources amounted to N69.5 million.

From the IGR, the council was expected to retain 20 per cent for its operations and remit 80 per cent to the Federal Government's consolidated revenue fund account. The review report, however, confirmed that only N30.9 million had so far been remitted to the Federal Government's account, leaving a short fall of N24.7 million as un-remitted before the study was carried out.

'It was in the course of the review exercise that operatives of the ICPC discovered that the council has not been remitting its unspent balances under the personnel and overhead cost at the end of each financial year.

'Instead, such balances were unusually rolled over to the following financial year in gross violation of the extant rules and regulations. 'At the end of the system study review exercise, the following amounts were confirmed as unspent balances under the personnel and over head cost.

'Accounts, as well as the outstanding credit balance under the IGR account, all amounting to N217, 606, 106.08 as at December 31, 2010,' the report showed. The review exercise, which was carried out between April and July 2011, also indicated that N33.1 million was paid to the council by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) through Ecobank Nigeria Plc, as part payment of money trapped in the defunct All States Trust Bank Nigeria Plc.

The money, the report said, was subsequently transferred to the overhead account where it was utilized alongside other allocations. A total of N11.7 billion was received by the council as allocation for its activities under personnel and overhead costs between the periods 2006 and 2010 reviewed by the ICPC.