The Senate Committee on Public Account has requested the Office of National Security Adviser to explain how N500 million was spent in monitoring the Anambra State governorship election.
Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd), who was appointed as National Security Adviser in 2012, was in charge when the N500 million was disbursed.
He is currently undergoing trial over allegations of fraud relating to disbursement of funds by the ONSA under him.
The Federal Government was then superintended by President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic.
Tony Nwoye, who is now a member of the All Progressives Congress was the PDP governorship candidate for the 2013 governorship election in Anambra State.
At the investigative hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Account, chaired by Senator Matthew Urhoghide, the Panel demanded for details of how the N500 million was used by the ONSA for the Anambra State governorship election in 2013 despite the budgetary provision for the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The office of Accountant General, represented by Segun Fehintola, said the money was used to procure equipment in 2013.
But the representatives of the ONSA, who appeared before the Senate Committee, said the N500 million was used during Anambra State governorship election in 2013.
The official of the ONSA said further that he will not like to say anything about the fund because it is currently a matter of litigation.
According to him: “The N500 million was used to monitor Anambra governorship election.
“The details of how the fund was used will not be made available because the issue is still a matter of litigation.
“So, I don’t want to talk about it.”
Urhoghide however insisted that the ONSA must present the report to the Committee on what the N500 million was used for during the election.
According to the Chairman: “You need to submit the details how the fund was used.
“The matter is stepped down, not closed down, until we hear from you.”
Speaking further with newsmen, Urhoghide explained that the N500 million was drawn from levies imposed on imported materials and many government agencies were beneficiaries of the loan.
He said: “We have been scrutinising the report submitted to us by the Auditor-General from 2015 till date.
“While perusing the assets and liabilities aspect of the report, we came across certain things that caught our attention in the query by the Auditor-General.
“He mentioned that loans under special funds were used for different purposes.
“The money, drawn from levies imposed on imported materials, were given out as loans to agencies, according to the documents before us.
“The whole idea really is that these loans, we observed from the 2014 audited accounts, that that a particular sum of N922 million was withdrawn from the 25 per cent rice levy as loans given to the Independent National Electoral Commission to finance the 2015 elections.
“The loan was contrary to the purpose for which the fund was established.
“It was meant for the local production of rice in Nigeria.
“The beneficiaries are supposed to be local rice producers in Nigeria.
“It was not meant to fund elections.
“Those who got part of the money are the NYSC (National Youth Service Corps, the Nigerian Army, the NSA and others.
“We asked the NSA what it used its own money for.
“They said they didn’t apply for loan.
“Virtually all of them are saying that they didn’t apply for loan but it was showing as loan to them from the Auditor-General’s query.
“The agencies are many.
“We asked whether they got the money, they said yes.
“Also, we asked whether it was given to them as loan, but they said no.
“NSA told us the truth that it used its own to support the Anambra election by providing logistics.”
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