By Jennifer Ugwueke
The Senate Committee on Public Accounts (SPAC), has given the management of the National Examination Council (NECO) 24 hours to provide verifiable evidence of payment for examination materials worth N7.2 billion between January and June 2017.
The Committee slammed the ultimatum on Wednesday at an investigative session with officials of the examination body.
The Committee Chairman, Senator Mathew Urhoghide, said the order followed the report of the Auditor General of the Federation, which indicted NECO of not providing evidence of the payment made.
The report had alleged that NECO paid for examination materials worth N7.2 billion between January and June 2017, without evidence of receipt of the items into the store.
The query raised by the office of the Auditor General, obtained by Ripples Nigeria read: “Examination Materials in the sum of N7.2 billion were paid for between January and June 2017 without evidence of receipt of the items into the store.
“There was no evidence to confirm the receipt of the materials or their usage, thereby contravening Financial Regulations, which requires the storekeeper to certify that items purchased have been received and documented in the store ledger.
“Inquiry to verify the true position of items revealed that a committee was in charge of the receipt and distribution of examination materials.
“However, despite the repeated request for documentary evidence in relation to the supply, the Committee failed to produce any document for verification.”
Responding, the Registrar of NECO, Professor Godswill Obioma, who was physically present at the investigative hearing, said NECO examination materials are sensitive items that are kept closely guarded to avoid leakages.
However, when Senator Urhoghide demanded the Store Receipt Vouchers (SRV) for the expenses of ‘sensitive materials’ for the examination of the year 2016, officials of NECO who appeared in the company of the Registrar were unable to present them to the Committee.
Urhoghide, therefore, demanded that the NECO Registrar should provide the receipts to the Committee within 24 hours or refund the N7.2 billion to the Federal Government’s purse.
But, Professor Obioma took exception to the penalty on the ground that he was not the Registrar as at the time of the spending.