THE Senate Committee on Public Accounts has cleared the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) of allegations that it failed to remit ₦62.2 billion into the Federation Account, as contained in the 2019 Audit Report of the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation.
News Point Nigeria reports that the committee reached the decision on Tuesday during an investigative session with the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, over 77 audit queries raised against the agency in the 2019 and 2020 audit reports.
While dismissing the allegation relating to the ₦62.2 billion, the committee resolved to establish an ad hoc reconciliation panel to review the remaining 76 audit queries and report back for further consideration.
At the hearing, representatives of the Office of the Auditor-General informed lawmakers that although the Nigeria Customs Service generated more than ₦691 billion in revenue in 2017, only about ₦629 billion was remitted to the Federation Account, leaving an outstanding balance of ₦62.2 billion.
Responding to the allegation, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, explained that the amount in question consisted of levies collected on behalf of other government agencies and was therefore not meant to be remitted into the Federation Account.
According to Adeniyi, the figure was wrongly classified as under-remittance in the audit report. He explained that while some levies collected by Customs are paid into the Federation Account, others are designated for separate accounts in line with existing provisions.
The Customs boss specifically noted that certain levies imposed on the local production of wheat, textiles and wines fall into the category of funds earmarked for separate accounts rather than the Federation Account.
He maintained that the disputed ₦62.2 billion belonged to that category and should not have been recorded as unremitted revenue in the audit findings.
Adeniyi also provided explanations on the second and third audit queries raised against the service, which members of the Senate Committee described as satisfactory after reviewing the submissions.
During the session, some lawmakers questioned why the issues had progressed to the level of a Senate investigation, arguing that such discrepancies should ordinarily have been resolved through routine reconciliation between officials of the Nigeria Customs Service and auditors.
In his response, Adeniyi observed that the audit years under review coincided with a period of strained relations between the National Assembly and the Nigeria Customs Service, a situation he suggested may have contributed to the unresolved issues.
Following deliberations, the committee resolved to establish a reconciliation panel comprising Customs officials and representatives of the Auditor-General’s office to examine the remaining 76 audit queries.
News Point Nigeria reports that the panel is expected to work with both parties to resolve discrepancies identified in the outstanding queries before the Senate considers any further legislative action on the matter.