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| Paul nwabuikwu |
Sequel
to the multi-billion naira scandal rocking the handling of petroleum subsidy
regime, the Federal Ministry of Finance has terminated the appointment of two
accounting firms - Akintola Williams and
company, Adekanola and company - accountants and auditors responsible for
the certification of claims by petroleum products marketers.
In
a statement issued in Abuja, the Ministry named a committee made up of “credible
and experienced persons” under the chairmanship of Aigboje Imoukuede to examine the claims of payment arrears for 2011
currently being made by marketers.
Although
the official reasons for the sacking of the two accounting firms were not
explicitly stated, there were indications that they were accused of complicity
in the subsidy scam.
Here
is the full text of the statement signed by Paul Nwabuikwu, Special Assistant to Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,
Minister of Finance:
“Concerned
about the management of the subsidy regime, the Federal Ministry of Finance has
for the last two months been reviewing aspects of the implementation of the
subsidy regime related to its functions. The review has produced a lot of
useful details on what was wrong with the system and what needs to be done to
ensure improvement going forward.
“The
review process kicked off in February when the ministry and relevant government
agencies held a meeting with bankers and marketers at the instance of President
Goodluck Jonathan. This was followed by a subsequent session with the
accounting and auditing firms to re-evaluate their work.
“Based
on the review, the Ministry has taken the following steps: The services of the
audit and accounting firms responsible for certifying the documents and claims
of marketers before payment have been terminated. The companies are Akintola
Williams and Co and Adekanola and Co.
“The
Ministry has established a committee made up of credible and experienced
persons from the private and public sector with strong technical component
under the chairmanship of Aigboje Imoukuede to examine the claims of payment
arrears for 2011 currently being made by marketers. This is to ensure that only
genuine claims are honoured.
“The
ministry is also finalising a new and more effective system to replace the current
arrangement and, in this regard, a second committee has been set up to propose
a good way to forward.
“Based
on other outcomes of the review, the ministry will take further actions as necessary.
In
a related development, the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) has put
on hold further depletion of the Excess Crude Account (ECA)”
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