Remittances: FRC summons BPE, NTDC over operating surpluses

The Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) has summoned the leadership of two agencies to appear before it to offer explanations for their failure to remit their operating surpluses to the treasury.

The leadership of the Bureau of Public Enterprises and the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation are expected to appear before the FRC today (Wednesday) to explain their roles in the failure of the agencies to remit their operating surpluses.

The Director General, FRC, Chief Victor Muruako, confirmed this in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Abuja on Tuesday.

He said, 'We are meeting with them to iron out issues surrounding their failure to remit their operating surpluses to the treasury.

'They have also failed to submit their annual accounts. It is from scrutinising their annual accounts that we know which agency has not remitted its operating surplus.'

At a meeting in April, the commission had indicted the BPE for failure to prepare its audited financial reports for four years, from 2010 to 2013.

Muruako had threatened to prosecute the BPE and other agencies that continued to contravene the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007.

The Head of Investigation, FRC, Mr. Umar Hadejia, who spoke at the meeting, also alleged that the BPE had failed to honour its pledge to pay N81.8m it accepted as arrears of its operating surplus for 2007.

He had said, 'It is pertinent to note that since the commencement of investigation into the BPE, it has only submitted audited statements of accounts for 2007 to 2009.

'It is clear that the BPE is in breach of Section 22 (1) and (2) of the FRA, 2007 pertaining to payment of operating surplus, and Section 23 (3) of the same Act, which states that a government agency shall not more than three months after end of its financial year, cause to be prepared and published its audited financial reports as stated.'

Representative of the BPE at the meeting and Head of Central Accounts, Mr. Sanusi Ali, explained that the agency had not been able to prepare its audited accounts over the four-year period because of the delay in getting its 2009 accounts approved. - Punch.