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MDAs hid N9.2bn ‘padded as personnel cost’ in CBN, ICPC reveals
Chairman of Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offence Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, has indicted some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government, in the padding of personnel cost.
According to him, N9.2 billion was discovered in the accounts of some MDAs in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He made the revelation on Tuesday, when he led officials of the ICPC to appeared before the Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes to defend their 2020 budget.
He said: “Some MDAs are comfortably hiding some money (about N9.2bn). The money is in the Central Bank of Nigeria. If we did not do our work, it would have been padded as personnel cost. We got them to sign off the money from the CBN. The money is now available for the government to spend.
“The affected agencies inflated the personnel cost despite the fact that their workers have been paid. When the ICPC discovered the N9.2bn, they (the agencies) agreed to release the money.”
Speaking earlier, Chairman of the committee had stated, that there is ongoing secret recruitment into Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Read also: Yet to exonerate itself from employment scam, Senate quizzes FCC over alleged secret recruitment
He alleged that some Federal Government agencies were secretly recruiting workers to cover up for their over-bloated personnel cost.
This is coming a day after the Senate Committee on Federal Character queried the Federal Character Commission (FCC) over alleged secret recruitment in some government agencies.
The Chairman also alleged that the MDAs were backdating the employment letters.
He said: “The ongoing secret recruitment was sequel to the directives by President Muhammadu Buhari that salary of civil servants not captured in the Integrated Personnel and Payroll System should be stopped by the end of October.
“Some agencies are currently employing people; they are doing so to cover their tracks on salaries; appointments are being given and letters backdated to last year just to cover their tracks.”
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