For no work
A top politician has been collecting huge amount of money regularly from a government agency for no work done, the chairman Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) Alhaji Aliyu Jibril Yelwa has revealed.
Speaking in an interview with Daily Trust in Abuja, Yelwa said the commission discovered such transaction when it set up an investigation on non-remittance of operation surplus of some government agencies to the treasury.
He declined to disclose the politician and the agency, but said he is already writing a report to government on the scandal.
According to him, the politician collects the remittance in dollars and it has been on for a while. He also regretted also regretted that the managing director of the agency was not ashamed to tell the story.
“The managing director was not even ashamed to tell us the story. Part of the revenue that comes to that organisation goes to a private person; and that revenue is in dollars, that person will collect it and even ask, ‘is that all you have gathered?’” Yelwa said.
When asked why the commission did not get the politician arrested for collecting such remittances, Yelwa replied: “Who am I to stop him. If you hear some stories from these organisations you will shed tears.”
He disclosed that the commission has been making shocking discoveries, but lacks the capacity to prosecute or apply punitive measures.
The greatest problem militating against the full implementation of the fiscal responsibility is weak legislation, he said stressing that for long, the agency has been craving for a review of the law to no avail.
He said the main obstacle to the operation of the commission is lack of fiscal discipline among Nigerians who do not seek to do things in the right way.
“If you set up a business, you need a profit out of it. But somebody, somewhere, may be a minister or so, he will just go and tell an organisation that we need some new cars, please buy them for us. It is happening; or we are going for a foreign trip, please sponsor this number of people for us. You see, we are not serious people.”
On the call for the scrapping of the agency or merging it with Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission, the chairman said those making such calls are ignorant of the functions of the FRC and what it achieved for the country since inception in 2007.
According to him, as a result of several interventions, the commission facilitated payment of remittances of about N114 billion to the federal government, since it came into operation three years ago.
Yelwa said many government agencies are frustrating the operation of the commission because they are not happy with its operations. He also regretted that even some of the architects of the law are now turning against it.
“For instance, nobody has given us the loan limit for the federal, state, and local governments for about three years now, and we have been asking for that,” he said.
On comments by the former FCT minister, Nasir el-Rufai, against the commission, Yelwa said ‘it was laughable’ because it appears that the former minister does not even know the functions of the commission.
“He should have at least consulted the commission and ask what we are doing. He didn’t even bother to know what we are doing or what we have done. All he needs is to see everybody carrying a gun, like EFCC. We are not hunting for criminals but trying to stop criminals.
“As a politician, he should think twice before he opens his mouth to talk about some organisations. Reading from what he wrote, you know that he knows nothing about what we are doing here,” the chairman said.
When contacted, spokesman to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sam Nwaobasi said it was “impossible” for him to answer a question which had no details of the organisation or players involved.
“You and I know this question is impossible to answer. Please don’t ask me this kind of question,” he said.
Source: Daily Trust
