By Abbanobi -Eku Onyeka
The Senate, through its Public Accounts Committee (SPAC), vacated a N62.2 billion under-remittance query slammed on the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation in the 2019 audit report.
The committee held an investigative session Tuesday on 77 queries bordering on financial infractions raised against Customs in the 2019 and 2020 audit reports. Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, appeared before the panel.
Customs had a smooth sail at the session after the CG gave convincing responses to queries one, two and three read to him by a representative of the Auditor General of the Federation.
As directed by SPAC Chairman, Senator Ibrahim Dankwabo, Gombe North, the Auditor General’s representative read that in 2017, Customs collected N691.242 billion as total revenue but remitted N629.23 billion, leaving a balance of N62.2 billion unremitted into the Federation Account.
In his response, Adeniyi said the N62.2 billion classified as unremitted or under-remittance was actually levies collected by Customs on behalf of other agencies and not meant for the Federation Account.
“The under-remittance of N62.2 billion leveled against Customs in the 2019 audit report was wrongly arrived at through misclassification of levies collected,” the CG explained.
He added that while most levies are to be collected and remitted into the Federation Account, others such as those on local production of wheat, textiles and wines do not go into the account. “Totality of which accounted for the alleged unremitted N62.2 billion,” he said.
Similar explanations were offered on queries two and three. The responses prompted a member of the committee, Senator Babangida Hussaini, Jigawa North West, to question why the issues got to the committee level.
“I was in the civil service just like the Chairman of the Committee before venturing into politics. Queries one, two and three that you have responded to should have been trashed out at reconciliation level with the auditors and not allowed to get to this stage,” Hussaini said.
The Customs boss reminded the committee that the years under review were a period when the Senate and Customs had a frosty relationship. Based on his explanation, the committee resolved to set up a small committee to meet with Customs for reconciliation of issues raised in the remaining 74 queries.
