A report from the Auditor-General of the Federation has uncovered over N197.72 billion in irregular contract payments across multiple ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
The Auditor-General’s Annual Report on Non-Compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses, covering the period from 2020 to 2021, exposes these breaches and calls for corrective action to recover misappropriated funds.
Among the most concerning findings was the award of contracts worth N7.39 billion in breach of financial regulations. These irregularities, which occurred across 32 MDAs, violated Paragraph 2921(i) of the Financial Regulations (2009), which mandates open competitive bidding.
The Rural Electrification Agency in Abuja recorded the largest irregularity at N2.12 billion, while the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPM) had the smallest irregularity of N11.72 million.
The report also revealed that N167.59 billion was paid for jobs or contracts that were either partially executed or not executed at all, violating Paragraph 708 of the Financial Regulations.
The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) was responsible for the largest portion of this, amounting to N100 billion, while the National Centre for Women Development had the smallest irregularity at N2.17 million.
“The sum of N167,592,177,559.40 (one hundred and sixty-seven billion, five hundred and ninety-two million, one hundred and seventy-seven thousand, five hundred and fifty-nine naira, forty kobos) was the number of payments for jobs/contracts not executed by 31 ministries, departments and agencies.
“The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc., Abuja, has the highest amount of N100,000,000,000.00 (one hundred billion naira), while the National Centre for Women Development has the least amount of N2,171,766.44 (two million, one hundred and seventy-one thousand, seven hundred and sixty-six naira, forty-four kobo).”
Additionally, the report uncovered N20.33 billion in contracts awarded in violation of due process across 24 MDAs. These violations were found to contravene Section 16(21) of the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007, which requires strict adherence to procurement plans and mandatory approvals before contracts are awarded. NSPM accounted for the largest share of these violations, totalling N14.14 billion.
A further N2.41 billion was found to have been paid for contracts exceeding financial thresholds without the required “Certificate of No Objection” from the Bureau of Public Procurement. This irregularity affected five MDAs, with Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital recording the highest at N1.06 billion.
The report categorised these findings as “cross-cutting,” indicating that they were systemic and affected at least four different MDAs. It criticised the weak internal controls within these agencies and emphasised the urgent need for stronger enforcement of financial regulations.
The Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly have been notified of the audit’s findings, which include recommendations to ensure accountability and prevent similar issues from arising in the future.
