₦34.7m Unaccounted, Unrecovered, Unremitted Under Tonye David-West’s NDBDA Tenure

Secrets Reporters

The investigative eye of SecretsReporters has uncovered financial and revenue management issues at the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority, Port Harcourt, under the leadership of Engr. Tonye David-West, with findings showing that ₦26,725,920.00 realised from the sale of the Authority’s farm produce was not accounted for, ₦5,726,886.63 in salary advances granted to retired staff remained unrecovered, while another ₦2,339,997.50 in internally generated revenue was not remitted to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

A review carried out by SecretsReporters found that a committee constituted by the Authority sold farm produce and realised ₦26,725,920.00 net of costs. The proceeds were handed over to the cashier, who confirmed receipt of the money but did not account for how the funds were subsequently utilised.

With no account of the ₦26,725,920.00 as required, the revenue remained unaccounted for, contrary to Treasury Circular TRY/A1&B1/2015, which requires all government revenue to be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund through the Central Bank of Nigeria using the e-Payment/Treasury Single Account system.

The review also identified unrecovered salary advances totalling ₦5,726,886.63 granted to 12 officers between September 2004 and July 2012, contrary to Financial Regulations 2009, paragraphs 1420 and 1416, which require the full recovery of advances, including recovery from an officer’s final salary or gratuity upon exit from service.

The advances remained unretired as at the April 2021 review, despite all 12 officers having retired from service. The review further found that no recovery effort had been made in respect of the outstanding advances, exposing government funds to loss and creating difficulty in funding the budget.

It was further discovered that the Authority generated ₦4,005,275.00 in independent revenue between 2019 and 2020 but remitted only ₦1,665,277.50, leaving ₦2,339,997.50 unremitted to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Financial Regulations 2009 paragraph 236 and Treasury Circular TRY/A10&B10/2016 require 25 per cent of internally generated revenue to be remitted to the Consolidated Revenue Fund. The review found that ₦2,339,997.50 of the revenue generated remained unremitted, resulting in a loss of funds and revenue to government and creating a risk of reduced capacity to fund the government budget.

NDBDA is a federal government agency under the Federal Ministry of Water Resources responsible for the development and management of water resources, irrigation, drainage and related agricultural infrastructure within its area of operation in the Niger Delta.

The Authority also undertakes projects aimed at supporting agricultural production, improving water supply and promoting sustainable management of water resources in the region.