The House of Representatives has asked the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) to account for about N10 billion allegedly spent to register two companies for the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST).
Rep. Bamidele Salam, Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts made the call in Abuja at the resumed investigative hearing of the committee.
The legislator is more worried that the companies registered with such humongous amounts have folded up after one year of takeoff.
According to Salam, the companies, NIPOST Transport and Logistics Ltd., and NIPOST Property reportedly took off in May 2023 and folded up through a Presidential directive in May 2024.
“No reasonable Nigerian will believe that N10.4 billion was spent to register the two companies. The companies eventually folded up one year after takeoff,” he said.
BPE reacts
However, the BPE Head of Finance and Accounts who stood in for the Director-General of the Agency, Mr Imam Rilwan, told the committee that of the said amount, N10 million was given to the two companies for their take-off.
- He said that about N400 million was given to the BPE to prepare the ground for the takeoff of the companies, noting that the issue of registering the two companies for NIPOST was approved in 2017.
- He explained that this paved the way for BPE to expend about N423 million in registering and carrying out other activities for the eventual takeoff of the companies.
- He said when the money was eventually released in 2023 the bureau had to recover its money, adding that the N423 million given to the BPE was used to rent office accommodation among other essential services.
- According to him, while the bureau paid rent for the two companies from 2022, the companies took possession of the offices in May 2023, while they folded up in May 2024.
- Rilwan added that all property belonging to the two companies had been officially handed over to NIPOST management.
Responding, Salam said spending money from the government coffers before the money was released was a violation of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act.
Salam, however, directed the Director-General of BPE, Ayodeji Gbeleyi, to personally appear before the committee on September 11 at 12 noon with all relevant documents relating to the transaction.
Backstory
Earlier this year, it was reported that the N10 billion earmarked by the government to restructure NIPOST had allegedly gone missing. This led to the Senate ordering a probe into the missing restructuring funds released by the Federal Ministry of Finance.
- The Senate allegedly discovered that illegal transfers were made to private individuals from two subsidiaries (NIPOST Properties and Development Company and Transport and Logistics Services Limited).
- Meanwhile, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in April announced the revocation of the certificates of incorporation of two NIPOST companies, NIPOST Properties & Development Company Limited and NIPOST Transport & Logistics Company.
- According to the Commission, the certificates of incorporation were “inappropriately procured”. With the revocation, CAC said all assets of the companies should be transferred to the parent company, NIPOST.
