Members of Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC) were amazed as Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) now known as the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), failed to present documents justifying payment of N131 million as legal fee to external solicitor.
The Auditor General of the Federation in 2018 Audited report had queried the agency for payment of N131 million as legal consultancy fees.
But when the Chairman of the Committee , Senator Mathew Urhoghide asked the officials of PPPRA to present the evidence for the payment of N131 million as legal consultancy fees to external solicitors, they failed to present any.
The lawmakers wondered why PPPRA paid that sum of moneyt to external solicitors when the in-house legal department that is competent to handle such cases could have done so.
The Panel members also observed that the consent of Attorney General of Federation was not obtained before engaging and agreeing on the sum in accordance with extant circular and there is no evidence of any deliverables in the contract agreement before payment was made.
However, officials of the PPPRA were unable to present document to justify payment of the N131 million as legal consultancy fees to external solicitors.
Instead , the representative of the agency, General Manager Account, Dele Adewumi told the lawmakers that the agency was in urgent need of continuous legal representation in various cases initiated against the Federal government by Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
The PPPRA official added that the agency considered it more efficient and financially prudent to engage the external solicitors.
The query reads, ” N131 million was paid to staff of Messrs Ahmed Uwais and Co Legal Practitioners for retainership and consultancy service from 1st January- December 2017.
“To ensure probity and accountability in management of public funds and to ensure prudence and control of legal services provided by private legal practitioners for government matters, the office of the Solicitors General of the Federation issued a circular Ref No SGF/PS/CIR/624/1 if 1st July 2003 seeking the consent of the Honorable Attorney General of the Federation prior to engagement and payment to external solicitors.