An Ad-Hoc Committee forensic audit of the National Economic Council (NEC) has indicted the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMSA), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) and a number of Federal Government revenue generating agencies of short changing the government in its remittances.

The forensic audit covers the period from 2010 – May 2015.

Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant media and publicity to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said the interim report on the NNPC and other revenue generating agencies revealed that a “number of revenue-generating agencies may have significantly under remitted returns to the Federation Account”.

Akande made this disclosure in the hightlights of NEC delibrations, on Thursday, at the end of the Council’s montthly (NEC) meeting, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Council had previously ordered the forensic audit to review remittances of the agencies covering 2010 to May 2015.

Akande said while Council received an updated interim report on Thursday, “a final report is awaited next month”.

“The Council was informed that there were possible significant under-remittances from certain revenue generating agencies to the Federation Account, among other accounts. Council was also informed of questionable loans granted by some of the revenue generating agencies,” Akande said in the NEC highlights.

He said that “out of the 18 agencies in which forensic audit was conducted, the committee completed work on 13 agencies, two are ongoing and three are not revenue generating.The 13 include: NIMASA, NNPC, NPA, FIRS, NPDC, DPR, etc. The two outstanding agencies are the Customs Service and NCC”.

Akande disclosed that Finance Minister, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, informed Council that a list of about 500 Nigerians with property and trusts abroad has been obtained to determine their tax compliance status at home.

She explained that such Nigerians can take advantage of the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme, VAIDS, to settle past taxation defaults.

“Letters would soon be going out to these Nigerians, including a number of prominent ones, asking them to take advantage of the tax amnesty in order to avoid prosecution and fines by simply paying up their tax defaults. The amnesty is available till March next year,” he quoted the minister as saying.

On excess crude account, the VP spokesman said t AGF briefed Council “that balance in the ECA as at November 17, 2017, stands at $2,309,693,583.35”.

The AGF informed Council that as at November 17, 2017, the balance in the (SFA) stood at N6,689,072,836.11.

Akande said on financing, “the Committee recommended the recapitalization of NEXIM Bank, the provision of Export Development Fund, in line with NEPC Act, a five-year financial window on export expansion grant and funding scheme for exporters similar to the CBN Anchor Borrowers programme”.

He said the Minister of Budget and National Planning Mr. Udoma Udo Udoma briefed Council on the economic recovery observed since Q3 2016 and the Recovery consolidated in Q3 2017, with GDP doubling to 1.40%

“Non-oil GDP contracts in Q3 2017 increased by 0.76% after growing in Q1 R Q2 2017, while the Services Sector is still in the negative; the Manufacturing Sector was negative in Q3 2017 also,” he quoted the minister as saying.

The Frontier Newspaper