By Gloria Ikibah
The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has ordered the Investment and Security Tribunal (IST) to remit N6,327,049.85 to the Federal Government.
The directive was issued during a session led by Rep. Bamidele Salam, following the Tribunal’s appearance before the committee over concerns raised in the Auditor-General’s 2020 report.
Naijablitznews.com reports that the audit report highlighted four key issues against the Tribunal. These included unsupported payments amounting to N11,698,329.40, non-remittance of statutory taxes totaling N1,407,544.85, extra-budgetary spending of N3,159,129.75, and cash advances exceeding N200,000, which totaled N1,760,376.00.
In response, the Chief Registrar of IST, Shehu Kuta, explained that the Auditor-General had not flagged these issues during the audit process.
Kuta further stated that the necessary supporting documents for the payments were available for the committee’s review. He however admitted that the Tribunal failed to deduct statutory taxes amounting to N1,407,544.85 and acknowledged the cash advance violation totaling N1,760,376.00.
He also clarified that all payments during the period in question were made through the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), and that the extra-budgetary spending was due to a GIFMIS system error.
The PAC unanimously directed the IST to remit the N6,327,049.85 to the Federal Government within seven days, warning that further financial sanctions would follow if compliance is not met.