Another huge sum of gone is missing again and this time; there is no documentary evidence on the whereabouts of the N24 billion released from Service Wide Vote in 2010 for Police Pensions Fund.
Mrs. Nellie Mayshak, director general, Pension Transitional Arrangement Department (PTAD), told the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts yesterday that she would not be held accountable for the missing fund since she had just been assigned to manage the office.
Mayshak spoke when she appeared before the committee to explain how the office expended the sum of N24 billion it received from the Service Wide Vote account, adding that the money might have been utilised before her appointment.
“We have no evidence, we have no record. It just looked bad on our part. We will rather tell you the truth than make it up.” She said
However, Mr. Adeyemo Julius Adebolu, internal auditor, Pensions Office, who knew about the receipt of the N24 billion, acknowledged before the Adeola Olamilekan-led committee the receipt of the monies for pensioners in 2010.
According to him, as soon as the money was released, he duly advised the office to lodge it in a First Bank account. However, he claimed he was kept in the dark soon after its lodgment and further disbursement to pensioners.
Adebolu further disclosed that a consulting firm was contracted to disburse the fund, as against the tradition of utilising members of staff of the Police Pensions Office. He claimed that he had to intervene after some of the pensioners complained that they had been shortchanged by the consulting firm, though he was not also involved in the auditing process of the account.
Piqued by the disclosure, the committee summoned Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, minister of Finance and coordinating minister for the Economy; Mr. Jonah Otunla, accountant-general of the Federation; Mr. Samuel Ukura , auditor-general of the Federation; and Dr. Bright Okogwu, director-general, Budget Office, to shed more light on the alleged missing fund.
The committee also directed Okogwu to come along with a memo indicating the request from the Pension Office for the missing N24 billion. It further directed the First Bank authorities to come forth with evidence on the actual deposit with the bank and actual disbursement, in addition to the details of the transaction.