Senate intensifies probe into Buhari’s N30trn ways and means
By Innocent Raphael
Investigation into the N30 trillion ways and means advances under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is ongoing and being intensified, according to Senator Isah Jibrin, chair of the Senate ad hoc committee.
On March 11, 2024, Senate President Godswill Akpabio established a 17-member ad hoc committee to probe the N30 trillion in advances from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the Buhari administration.
The committee was expected to report back in six weeks. However, nine weeks past the deadline, the committee has yet to submit its findings.
Jibrin, speaking to TheCable on Monday, confirmed that the investigation is expanding.
He reiterated that the total advances were indeed N30 trillion.
TheCable’s report citing official documents that listed the amount at N7.5 trillion as of December 2022. Jibrin stated that his committee’s figure is based on documents provided by the CBN.
The probe focuses on ways and means advances, a facility through which the CBN finances federal government budget shortfalls. Although the CBN Act limits such advances to five percent of the previous year’s revenue, this limit has frequently been breached.
Jibrin explained the delay in submitting the report, emphasizing the committee’s need to verify details of the advances and their beneficiaries.
“The breakdown is for N30 trillion, not N7 trillion. This is what was presented to us by the CBN. We felt like we needed to get more details. We were told that all the records are domiciled with the auditor-general’s office – that is tenors and repayment schedules,” Jibrin said.
According to Jibrin, the committee has requested information from the auditor-general but has not yet received a response. They have also learned that beneficiaries, including Ondo and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have repayment schedules. However, the committee has not invited beneficiaries for questioning due to incomplete information.
In a documents reviewed by TheCable, the total outstanding overdraft to the federal government at the CBN as N22.7 trillion as of December 19, 2022. This includes N7.5 trillion in ways and means, N13.7 trillion in federal government securities transactions, and N4.6 trillion in interest charges.
Significant advances included N2 trillion disbursed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and N1.4 trillion in 2019, Buhari’s re-election year.
Major beneficiaries listed in the documents include the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET), Azura Power West Africa, and Accugas Limited.
Jibrin assured that the committee is committed to uncovering the full details of the advances and their utilization, highlighting the importance of transparency and accountability in government financial practices.
