N24bn police pension fund missing — PTAD boss

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts was dumbfounded yesterday when they were told that there was no documentary evidence on whereabouts of N24 billion released from service wide vote in 2010 for Police Pension Fund.

The Director General of Pension Transitional Arrangement Department (PTAD), Mrs Nellie Mayshak, told the bewildered committee members when she appeared with the top management staff of the agency, saying: “We have no evidence, we have no record. It just looked bad on our part. We rather tell you the truth or make it up.”

Following this revelation, the Committee has summoned the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Jonah Otunla, Auditor General of the Federation, Mr Samuel Ukura and the Director General Budget Office, Dr. Bright Okogwu to appear before and shed light on the missing fund.

The committee asked the DG, Budget Office to come before the committee with a memo showing the request for the missing N24 billion, and also asked the First Bank to come up with the bank details of the transaction.

The Internal Auditor of the Pension office, Mr Adeyemo Julius Adebolu, who was around when the N24 billion was received by the Pension office, admitted that N24 billion was received from the service wide vote for payment of pensioners in 2010.

Chairman of the Committee, Solomon Adeola Olamilekan, in his submission, said “I am taken aback, because what you are telling us is that, service wide vote is a slush account, it is an account that is used to settle the boys.”