Missing N3.1 Billion: SERAP Urges President Buhari To Probe Ministry Of Finance

By Akinwale Kasali

The Federal Government has been called out by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, over the monumental fraud that occurred in the Ministry of Finance, with a whopping N3.1 Billion unaccounted for, said to be missing.

The Rights Group has urged the President Buhari to “use his good offices to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to investigate allegations that over N3bn of public funds are missing, mismanaged or diverted from the Federal Ministry of Finance.”

The organisation said the allegations are documented in the 2018 and 2019 annual audited reports by the Auditor-General of the Federation.

SERAP said: “Anyone suspected to be responsible should face prosecution as appropriate, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, and any missing public funds should be fully recovered.”

In the letter dated 24 December 2021, and signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said, “The reports suggest a grave violation of the public trust. As trustee of public funds, the Ministry of Finance ought to ensure strict compliance with transparency and accountability rules and regulations.”

According to SERAP, “as a key agency of government, the Ministry has a sacred duty to ensure transparency and accountability in the spending of the country’s resources. This implies providing strong leadership in the efforts to curb public sector corruption.”

“This leadership is important for the Ministry to enjoy the public trust and confidence essential for its effectiveness and impact.”

SERAP said, “The allegations that N3,143,718,976.47 of public funds are missing will also clearly amount to a fundamental breach of national anticorruption laws and the country’s international anti-corruption obligations including under the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party.”