The House of Representatives has ordered an investigation an alleged non-remittance of N1.343 trillion Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) by the Petroleum Products Pricing iand Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to the Consolidated Revenue Account of the federation.
Hon. Nicholas Ossai and Julius Ihonvbere through a notion brought under matters of urgent public importance, on Wednesday, made the call for the investigation, recalling that, the Director General, Budget Office, Ben Akabueze disclosed at a Town Hall meeting in 2018 with Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs) in Abuja that, the PPPRA is the worst culprit in non-remittance as it withheld operating surplus of over N1.34 trillion.
They said the N1.343 trillion unremitted revenue was part of its IGR which contravenes the Public Accounting Principle and the Treasury Single Account policy of the Federal Government.
According to the lawmakers, Section 22, Subsection 1 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007 (FRA,2007) made it clear that, “Notwithstanding the provisions of any written law governing the Corporation, each Corporation shall establish a general reserve fund and shall allocate thereto at the end of each financial year, one fifth of its operating surplus for the year” and such payments are to be made very year after preparation of Audited Accounts;
The lawmakers therefore prayed the House to mandate its Committees on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) to investigate the allegation and report back in 10 weeks.
