Queen Nwabueze
The House of Representatives, recently, quizzed the Management of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) over the disbursement of N250 billion worth of grants, which TETFund obtained in 2019.
This was contained in TETFund’s Audited Financial Report for the year ended 31st December 2019, based on the audit query by the office of the Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF).
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe Agency was led by its Director of Finance and Administration, Gloria Olotu, to the Investigative Hearing organized to consider the queries raised on its annual report by the Office of the Auditor General, disclosed that the new Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono, was unavailable to attend the session due to unforeseen circumstances.
Chairman of the Committee, Busayo Oluwole Oke, frowned at the refusal of Echono to honour the invitation, noting that the immediate past Executive Secretary of the Agency appeared before it only once, and warned that such an act would no longer be tolerated.
He said, TETFund, like other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), was being summoned in the spirit of fair hearing to defend itself over the queries raised against it by the Office of the AuGF.
He also said the Agency would have to prove beyond reasonable doubt why it should not be sanctioned for offences including unremitted taxes, other deductions and undisclosed reserves totalling N345.02 million within the period under review.
This is in addition to addressing squarely the irregularities in its disclosures of Aids and Grants as contained in the AuGF’s report totalling another N8 billion.
…TETFund must produce its budgets for the years 2018, 2019, and 2020, its projected revenue for the same period as well as corroboration from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) that such tax deductions were truly made and paid into government coffers.
Responding, Olotu explained that what appeared as non-remittance of taxes and other deductions was that such deductions were usually made in the month of December of every year and remitted in January of the following year.
She added that the N250 billion classified as Grant in the audit query was wrong as the amount represented part of TETFund’s non-statutory operating funds raised from the 5% administrative cost, as its Establishment Act allows it to expend from the Education Tax.
She agreed that hitherto, the Agency had issues of properly classifying different funds available to it under correct sub-heads, but that the problem had been resolved over time.
Oke, however, insisted on relevant documents to back up her claims, demanding among others, TETFund’s budgets for the years 2018, 2019, and 2020, its projected revenue for the same period as well as corroboration from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) that such tax deductions were truly made and paid into government coffers.
He also demanded that Echono appear before the Committee at its next hearing, by next Tuesday for further questioning after fully being briefed by the management.
