Reps Order News Agency of Nigeria to Refund N7.9m Unremitted Revenue Before December 9
The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has ordered the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to refund N7.9 million to the Federal Government over unremitted Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and tax deductions, directing the agency to complete the payment before December 9, 2026.
The amount comprises N7,345,565.05 in outstanding IGR and N531,675 in tax losses arising from procurement irregularities, bringing the total amount ordered for refund to N7,877,240.05.
The Committee hearing led by Rep. Aliyu Bappa Misau, gave the directives on Thursday during its consideration of three audit queries involving the agency, whose delegation was represented by Paul Chidalu, Head of Financial Accounting.
Following the management’s admission of liability on the issues, the Committee ordered refunds.
On the non-remittance of IGR, the Auditor-General reported that NAN generated N155,579,939, out of which 25 per cent, amounting to N38,894,984, was due to the Federal Government. However, the agency remitted only N28 million, leaving an outstanding balance of N7,345,565.05.
Responding to the query, Chidalu admitted that the agency still owed the amount.
The Committee consequently directed NAN to pay the outstanding sum before December 9 and appear with evidence of payment.
Rep. Misau, insisted that the agency must comply with the directive, warning that the Committee would not accept excuses for failure to remit the outstanding revenue.
The Committee also adopted a recommendation to notify the Office of the Accountant-General for possible direct deduction of the outstanding amount, subject to approval by the Office of the Auditor-General.
On the procurement of ICT facilities worth N16.6 billion without clearance from the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the Auditor-General had recommended that the Accounting Officer refund the amount and that the Director of Procurement be removed from office with immediate effect.
However, NAN management attributed the procurement to the urgency of the 2023 election period, explaining that its reporters covering law and court offices urgently needed computers.
Rejecting the explanation as sufficient justification, Rep. Misau demanded evidence of purchase and distribution, including Store Receipt Vouchers, store ledgers and Store Issue Vouchers.
The Committee gave NAN two weeks to submit contract details, pictorial evidence of the ICT facilities purchased and documents confirming their distribution to officers. The N16.6 billion refund recommendation remains pending the submission and examination of the required documents.
The Committee also examined an audit query involving N4,074,000 in cash advances granted to officers, contrary to procurement regulations that prohibit the use of cash advances in place of Local Purchase Orders or Job Orders.
The Director of Finance admitted the violation during the hearing.
The Committee established that the arrangement resulted in a tax loss of N531,675 to the Federal Government and ordered the Director of Finance and Procurement Officer to refund the amount.
It further directed the agency to submit all documents relating to the N4,074,000 procurement within four weeks.
In his closing ruling, Rep. Misau said that the agency must fulfil all refund obligations and provide the outstanding documents within the deadlines stipulated by the Committee.
