The Senate has revealed that the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation illegally withdrew N665.8 billion from the Development of Natural Resources Fund and Stabilization Funds and given as loans to various government agencies.
The Red Chamber said the funds were withdrawn between 2004 and 2015 contrary to the established objectives of the fund.
The revelation is contained in the report of Senate Committee on Public Accounts on the Federation Account.
The Auditor General’s report, in its query against depletion of Special Funds had said, “Amount totaling N455.8 billion were withdrawn from Development of Natural Resources Fund as loans to various beneficiaries between 2004 and 2015, contrary to the established objectives of the fund.
“The purpose of the Stabilization Fund is to provide for unforeseen contingencies and economic downturn and the beneficiaries are the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The stabilization fund belongs to three tiers of government.”
The breakdown of the beneficiaries of the funds showed that the entitlement of former President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President, Namadi Sambo, which is about N1.5 billion, were paid on June 11, 2015.
It also revealed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) received about N20 billion from the Development of Natural Resources Fund apart from the N17.9 billion it got from Brown Rice Levy, Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS) Pool Levy and Rice Levy.
The Senate, in its resolution, directed the Accountant-General of the Federation to ensure a refund of the monies within 60 days.
