Senate Summons CBN, SGF Over N596 Billion Ecological Fund

By Michael Shuaibu 

The Senate through its Committee on Public Accounts has summoned the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Office of the Secretary to the Federal Government (SGF) over N596 billion Ecological Fund deducted from the Federation Account between 1999 and 2015.

The Senate Panel reached the decision to summon both the CBN and the SGF as it began investigation into the queries brought before it against virtually all the MDAs by the Auditor General in his financial statement for 2015.

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts began full investigation into the queries raised by the Auditor General of the Federation, Anthony Ayine in his financial report for 2015 with the Accountant General for the Federation, Ahmad Idris on the hot seat.

But the inability of the Office of the Accountant General to give satisfactory answers to the sharp drop in Federal Government share of Trust Funds between 2011 and 2015 as well as the management of the money brought the CBN and the SGF into the fray.

While the CBN was summoned to provide details about the current status of the Ecological funds as well as other funds in its custody; the SGF was to respond to the query of why his office had failed to establish an agency to manage the Ecological Fund as required by law.

This was as the Senate Panel resolved to begin a thorough oversight of the Ecological Fund.

Yet there were more queries for the Accountant General to answer- the discrepancy of N28 billion in what the Nigeria Customs Service remitted for Sugar and Cocoa levies and what was recorded in his own book.

But in the meantime, the Senate Panel wants the CBN and the SGF to come forward as soon as possible to answer to the queries leveled against them.