Senate knocks NAIC over inconsistent financial record

For lacking consistent financial records, the Nigerian Senate on Monday knocked the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Commission (NAIC).

The commission has been unable to provide details of its finances―from 2021, 2022, and up to the third quarter of 2023―requested by the Senator Sani Musa-led Senate Committee working on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework.

Committee members at an interactive session on Monday with officials of NAIC expressed discontent at the antics of the commission over its inability to produce receipts for expenditures of its revenues generated.

NAIC claimed to have spent revenues it generated, while some amount tagged “surplus” was transferred into the Federal Government account.

In a document submitted to the committee, the MD and CEO of NAIC, Mrs Folashade Joseph, while presenting the corporation’s 2024 Revenue, Overhead, and Capital Projections, told the panel that the agro-insurance outfit transferred N3, 847, 202, 032.03 to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the federal government in 2023.

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She, however, contradicted her submission by arguing that the organisation recorded “huge losses in 2022; hence, we were unable to remit for the year.”

Not impressed by her submissions, the lawmakers took turns to appraise NAIC’s performance for the fiscal year, wondering why the corporation’s fortunes continued to dwindle over three years.

Accordingly, the committee mandated the management of the organisation to furnish it with its audited account covering 2021, 2022, and up to the third quarter of 2023.

This is as the committee chairman called for a breakdown of NAIC finances, insisting that the panel was poised to “block all loopholes in the accounts of MDAs.”

“For a long time, the accounts of MDAs have been run as personal property. We want to make a difference. We want to ensure that the right thing is done and that this government has what it wants to give Nigerians the dividends of democracy,” Senator Musa stressed.

The committee also interacted with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Equipment Leasing Registration Authority (ELRA).