The Federal Government has terminated the contracts for the management of the petroleum subsidy process of two prominent accounting firms – Akintola Williams & Co and Adekanola & Co.
The two accounting frims were sacked for their shoddy handling of the fuel subsidy disbursement process.
The Federal Government announced their replacement with a committee headed by Mr. Aigboje Imoukuede.
The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Finance, is holding both Akintola Williams & Co and Adekanola & Co responsible for the shoddy documentation that led to the massive fraud that characterised the petroleum subsidy regime.
The flaws in the process, unearthed by a probe of the House of Representatives, showed that instead of the N240 billion budgeted for subsidy, over N2 trillion was spent.
The government believes that if the two accounting firms had done their jobs properly, the lapses, which enabled even firms that did not lift oil to claim millions in subsidy funds, would not have arisen.
In a statement this weekend, signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, the Ministry of Finance said: “Concerned about the management of the subsidy regime, the Federal Ministry of Finance has for the last two months been reviewing aspects of the implementation of the subsidy regime related to its functions. The review has produced a lot of useful details on what was wrong with the system and what needs to be done to ensure improvement going forward.
“The review process kicked off in February when the ministry and relevant government agencies held a meeting with bankers and marketers at the instance of President Goodluck Jonathan. This was followed by a subsequent session with the accounting and auditing firms to re-evaluate their work.
“Based on the review, the Ministry has taken the following steps:
“• The services of the audit and accounting firms responsible for certifying the documents and claims of marketers before payment have been terminated. The companies are Akintola Williams and Co and Adekanola and Co.
“• The Ministry has established a committee made up of credible and experienced persons from the private and public sector with strong technical component under the chairmanship of Mr. Aigboje Imoukuede to examine the claims of payment arrears for 2011 currently being made by marketers. This is to ensure that only genuine claims are honoured.
“• The ministry is also finalising a new and more effective system to replace the current arrangement and, in this regard, a second committee has been set up to propose a good way to forward.
“Based on other outcomes of the review, the ministry will take further actions as necessary.
“In a related development, the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) has put on hold further depletion of the Excess Crude Account (ECA).”