Secret Reporters No place to hide
The Yankari Resort and Safari owned by the Bauchi State Government which ought to be a source of revenue to the State, especially with what tourism is doing in many societies as a revenue earner, however, as learnt by this medium, rather than being a revenue earner for the state, the outfit has become a cash cow for some persons that managed the Resort and who are still managing it.
It was gathered by this medium that following a special audit exercise report for the period 1/ 1/ 2014- to 31/ 07 / 2016 in-respect of Yankari Resort and Safari, It was learnt that both the former General Manager and the current Sole Administrator, Engr. Habu Mamman were indicted by the Bauchi State Auditor Generals report.
The report stated in the section, INCOME STATEMENT FOR THE PERIOD 1/1/2014 TO 31/12/2014, thus; “We deemed it wise to prepare Income and Expenditure Statement in order to determine the total incomes realized and expenses incurred from the period under review, with a view to ascertaining whether the accrued revenues have been properly accounted for.
In the process it was discovered that the total income or revenue realize exceeded that of expenditure by Forty Two Million, One Hundred and Thirty Nine Thousand, Five Hund red and Six Naira, Sixty Eight Kobo (N42, 139, 506.68k) only, which as at the time of writing this report is yet to be accounted for by the former General Manager for that period.
Further scrutiny of the records reveals the follow: – That the total sum of Seventy Four Million, Nine Hundred and Twenty Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ten Naira, Sixty Eight Kobo (N74,920,910.68k) only, represents the total Internal Generated Revenue Collected/Realized for the period i.e. both in Bank and Cash at hand.
However, out of the total amount realized/collected, only Thirty Four Million, Four Hundred and Forty Eight Thousand, Five Hundred and Twenty Four Naira (N34, 448,524:00k) only, was lodged into Pay Direct Account of the Bauchi State Board of Internal Revenue Service as Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) as per details below:
Internal Transfer = N23,330,000. 00
Cash – Deposit = N l 0,618,524.00
Total Amount Paid-in = N34,448,524.00
But the report findings reveal that the total amount said to have been paid to BIRS as Internally Generated Revenue was not accompanied by “Bank Tellers” or “Bank Debit Advice” to indicate the completeness of the transactions.
Also, that no single “Receipt or a written Document/Acknowledgement” from the Bank was available to vouch part of the whole of this figure. However, only a “Statement of Revenue Head Report” was provided to us for different years and dates of Pay Direct Payment after a series of request to provide the evidence of payment, the report said.
Moreso, there is no corresponding Debit Entry in the Bank Statement of Unity Bank, Main Account of the Yankari Resort and Safari, and, First Bank Account as Pay Direct Payment point.
Moreover, the amount transferred as Internal Transfer of N23,830,000. 00k between January, 20 14 to December, 2014 was actually omitted. Therefore, the source of the stated figure could not be ascertained, the report further claimed.
“That the total sum of Twenty Million Two Hundred and Sixty One Thousand, Two Hundred and Sixteen Naira (N20,261,216.00) was given to Yankari Resort as Grant from the State Government for Special Imprest, out of which only the sum of Sixteen Million, Seven Hundred and Sixty One Thousand Two Hundred and Sixteen Naira (N l 6,761,216.00) was found to have been retired, leaving a balance of Three Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N3,500,000.00) as outstanding un-retired Imprest. In the same vein an additional sum of One Million, Six Hundred and Sixty Seven Thousand, One Hundred and Twenty Naira (Nl,667,120.00) for the month of August, 2014 was granted to the Resort which is also yet to be retired, bringing the total un-retired sum to Five Million, One Hundred and Sixty Seven Thousand, One Hundred and Twenty Naira (N5,167,120.00k). The former Managing Director Should be call to explain or otherwise be made to refund the said amount,” the report stated.
“The main Cash Book was not made available for the purpose of this exercise, only a Subsidiary Cash-Book was presented to us by the Main Reception of the Resort where all receives and all earnings realized from different Units are kept. Here it should however be noted that all receivables and earnings are kept without Lodgment to the Bank which is Contrary to Chapter 11, No. 1101 of the Financial Regulations. Furthermore, what will interest you here however was that the Main Account of the Yankari Resort does not maintain a Main Cash-Book where they are supposed to record all monies earned and all revenue received and thereafter effect payment to the Board of Internal Revenue as their Internally Generated Revenue which is also contrary to Financial Regulation”, it said.
Under outstanding credit sales, it was gathered from the report that, the total sum of Thirty One Million, Eight Hundred and Sixty Thousand, Six Hundred and Seventy Naira (N31,860,670.00k) was found to be service rendered to various Organizations on credit that are yet to be paid to Yankari Resort from the period l / 1/2014 – 31/ 12/ 2014 by the Organizations concerned.
The report advised that the former General Manager be made to comment or alternatively recover the amount involved and furnish the auditors with the recovery details for their verification.
Meanwhile having exhausted the period of 2014, the Auditor General’s report also covered that of 2015 financial year, and it was mind-boggling how Yankari was used as a conduit pipe of siphoning monies that could have been used for the betterment of Bauchi state. The report stated that; “The Income and Expenditure Statement for the period mention above (2015) was equally reviewed to examine the total Revenue/Receipts realized and how it was expended. During the course of our examination however it was discovered that the total Expenditure exceeded that of the Revenue/Income by Sixteen Million, Fifty Six Thousand, Four Hundred and Eighty Four Naira, Two Kobo (N16,056,484.02), while the sum of Sixteen Million, Seventeen Thousand, Two Hundred and Fifty Nine Naira, Two Kobo (N16,017,259. 02) was discovered to be a Revenue realized which is yet to be accounted for as at the time of writing this report”, the auditors stated.
“In the course of the audit it was further observed that the sum of Thirty Two Million, Seventy Three Thousand, Seven Hundred and Forty Three Naira, Five Kobo (N32,073,743.05k) was realized as the total Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the stated period.”
“The General Manager of the period under review should be call to explain otherwise be made to refund the difference as it was clear embezzlement of the Yankari Resort and Safari fund.”
Further scrutiny of the records available reveals the following: –
That the sum of Five Million, Eight Hundred and Thirty Six Thousand, Seven Hundred and Twenty Seven Naira, Five Kobo (N5,836,727.05) was paid to Board of Internal Revenue Service under Pay Direct Payment as (IGR) out of the total Internally Generated Revenue mention above, therefore, leaving a Balance of Twenty Six Million, Two Hundred and Thirty Seven Thousand, Sixteen Naira (N26,237,016.00) yet to be accounted for.
That Un-authorized(sic) Expenditure of Sixteen Million, Fifty Six Thousand, Four Hundred and Eighty Four Naira, Two Kobo (N16,056,484.02k) was incurred out of the Internally Generated Revenue leaving an un-remitted balance of Twenty Six Million, Sixteen Thousand Naira (N26,016,000.00k), while the remaining balance of Ten Million, One Hundred and Eighty Thousand Five Hundred and Thirty One Naira, Ninety Eight Kobo (N10,180,531.98k) was not in Bank neither Cash at hand.
The total sum of Fifteen Million, Five Hundred and Fifty Eight Thousand, Four Hundred and Fifty Naira (N15,558,450.00), and, Six Million, Eight Hundred and Forty Thousand Naira (N6,840,000.00), totaling Twenty Two Million, Three Hundred and Ninety Eight Thousand, Four Hundred and Fifty Naira (N22,398, 450.00) was found to have been granted to Yankari by Bauchi State Government as grant to finance other activities and Special Imprest respectively. The Special Imprest of SixMillion, Eight Hundred and Forty Thousand Naira (N6,840,000.00) granted is still yet to be retired.
That Payment Vouchers valued at Sixteen Million, Fifty Six Thousand Naira, Four Hundred and Eighty Four Naira, Two Kobo (N16,056,484.02) for the period January – April, 2015 was not made available to the auditors for examination. In addition to that, payment vouchers valued at Sixteen Million, Forty Three Thousand, Five Hundred and Seven Naira (N16,043,507.00k) was found not to have been posted in the Cash Book which is contrary to Financial Instruction.
Under that year under review, The Outstanding Credit Sales Not Recovered from various Organizations stood at Eleven Million, Three Hundred and Thirty One Thousand, Five Hundred and Eighty Naira (N11,331,580.00).
The auditors also requested the comments of the Sole Administrator on this issue.
Meanwhile for the Abridged Income And Expenditure For The Period January, 2016 To July, 2016, the report stated that; “This account was deemed necessary to be prepared in other(sic) to ensure that the details of Income realize from various Income Units of the Resort are properly accounted for and also the total amount expended for the period under review are done in-line with the set down Rules and Regulations (Financial Instruction). During the process of the examination, it was discovered that the total Income realized supersedes that of Expenditure by Sixteen Million, Four Hundred and Nine Thousand, Five Hundred and Seventy Six Naira, Fifty Two Kobo (Nl6,409,576.52k). The auditors demanded the Sole Administrator to be called upon to explain or otherwise refund the said amount.
It was also discovered that the total sum of Eighty Two Million, Four Hundred and Sixty Seven Thousand, Fifty Nine Naira, Eleven Kobo (N82,467,059.11k) during the period i.e. 1/1/2016 – 31/07/2016 out of which no single kobo was remitted to the Board of Internal Revenue.
Furthermore the Sole Administrator spent a staggering sum of Sixty Six Million, Two Hundred and Twenty One Thousand, One Hundred and Sixty Five Naira, Fifty Seven Kobo (N66,221,165.57k) out of the total Income said to have been generated above, without approval from His Excellency the Executive Governor of Bauchi State, and no budget provision in that respect, which is contrary to Chapter 2 Sub-section 236 of the Financial Instruction, still leaving a total sum of Sixteen Million, Four Hundred and Nine Thousand, Five Hundred and Seventy Six Naira, Fifty Two Kobo (N16,409,576.52k) which is yet to be accounted for. The auditors also demanded that the Sole Administrator be called upon to explain or refund the said amount.
The report continued, “Further scrutiny of records reveals the following: –
That the Cash-Books/Payment Vouchers were not prepared and posted appropriately in-line with Chapter 6 of the Financial Regulation. However, the records were in shambles though the Management made efforts to update the records. It was halfhazardly prepared for our audit.
That the(sic) Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) has a total deposit of Twenty One Million, Eight Hundred and Thirty Eight Thousand, Three Hundred and Eighty Two Naira, Three Kobo (N21,838,382.03k) from 26/02/2016 – 29/07/2016 and, only a credit balance of Forty Six Million, Three Hundred and Fourteen Thousand Naira, Seventy Three Kobo (N46,314.73k) as at 29/07/2016 was discovered and no Payment Vouchers was(sic) presented to us to support such expenditure.
That Revenue Cash-Book was not maintained, however Registers were designed as Revenue Cash-Books and issued to various Revenue Units by us, instead of Subsidiary Revenue Cash-Books used which is in-line with Financial Regulation.
Again, the outstanding credit sales for the period 01/01/2016 – 31/07/2016 from the report showed thus: “In the course of our audit it was observed that services valued at Thirty Eight Million, Three Hundred and One Thousand, Four Hundred and Fifty Naira (N38,301,450.00k) were rendered to various organizations, on Credit Sale between the period 1/1/2016 – 31/ 7/2016 .
But from the report, it was discovered that Procurement of Diesel and Petrol was done in a subtle way that was used to embezzle money from the coffers of the resort.
The report stated that, “The sum of Fourteen Million, Six Hundred and Forty Seven Thousand, Nine Hundred and Forty Five Naira (N 14,647,945.00k) was spent on diesel and petrol alone from January, 2016 – July, 2016 without any approval from His Excellency. Similarly, the rate of fuel consumption appears to be on the high sight(sic), considering settlement of Electricity Bills, in addition.
The auditors said, “We further observed that the Resort has no well-organized Store and Storage facilities. Purchase of fuel was done indiscriminately on daily basis without proper Receipts and Issue Process documents such as SRV and SIV that were not regularly issued or receipt. The negative effect of this cannot be over emphasized, the auditors affirmed.
We also observed that the maximum limit of procurement to be made by MDA is One Million Naira (N1, 000,000.00). However, the Manager made a procurement of which is above his threshold without His Excellency’s Approval.
The auditors demanded of the Sole Administrator, “Would you comment or alternatively give details(sic) explanation why you make such procurement without His Excellency’s approval and how you procured and consume fuel worth Fourteen Million, Six Hundred and Forty Seven Thousand, Nine Hundred and Forty Five Naira (N14,647,945.00k) within this period, after all no much activities within the particular period.”
However, in a response to the Auditor General’s report, dated 25th April, 2017 the Sole Administrator of the Yankari Resort and Safari was rather harsh and seems to have taken things personal rather than official.
The Sole Administrator, Engr Habu Mamman stated thus; “I was in receipt of the above mentioned report from your office and out of the 31 months under review about 9 months was in my tenure and the bulk of the 22 months were before my appointment. And as you have indicated the respective former managers should step forward to account for their tenure.”
Rather than respond to the issues in general, Engr Habu Mamman decided to exonerate himself from the period, but it is also on note that he was handed over the Resort by his predecessor and that before handing over, he should have spotted out the infractions that were done under the former General Manager while he held sway.
His response also stated thus; “I was appointed as the Sole Administrator of Yankari Resort and Safari Limited in November 2015. The Company was actually handed over to me by the then Ministry of Tourism and Culture on the 9th of November 2015. My reply will therefore address numbers 5, 6 and 7 of the report which entirely fall within my tenure and any query arising from the last two months of 2015.”
Abridged Income and Expenditure for the Period January, 2016 to July, 2016
“Characteristically, as an adherent of accountability, I am completely open to responsible auditing and your staff can testify to you that I gave them all the support and logistics to enable them do their work diligently and with a strong advice that they should leave no stone unturned. You can testify yourself that within this ‘abridged’ period you have sent a barrage of them. The report of this group is being seen probably because it is the one that suits the actual mission of the ‘abridged exercise’, the Sole Administrator lamented.
“The inclusion of the period 1/1/2014 to 1/1/2015 was actually a decoy to make the exercise look like a routine transparent audit exercise instead of a select targeted witch-hunt. I say this because I have in my possession an audit report of that period which was discussed by the then Manager of the resort. Moreover, this was also disclosed to me by the head of your ‘abridged exercise’ team in his effort to push in an impossible demand that will be discussed later in this reply.
However, irrespective of the reason for the ‘abridged exercise’, it would have still been a worthwhile venture if the team you sent had done their work diligently and with the fear of God. The fact that they have a premeditated conclusion rushed them to produce a mediocre report. They were so in a hurry to nail their target that even the appendices could not be lettered properly.”
The first shot was that: “the total Income realized supersedes that of Expenditure by Sixteen Million, Four hundred and Nine Thousand, Five Hundred and Seventy Six Naira, Fifty Two Kobo (N16,409,576.52k)”. Ordinarily, this should be a normal harmless statement, but the insinuation portrayed here is that the amount is missing and that, “The Sole Administrator should be called upon to explain or otherwise refund the said amount”.
The second shot was that: “the total sum of Eighty Two Million, Four Hundred and Sixty Seven Thousand, Fifty Nine Naira, Eleven Kobo (N82,467,059.11k) during the period i.e. 1/1/2016 – 31/07/2016 out of which no single kobo was remitted to the Board of Internal Revenue”. This is copied as written but I am putting sense to it by assuming that it means the money was collected or accrued during the said period.
The Third shot was that: “the Sole Administrator spent a staggering sum of Sixty Six Million, Two Hundred and Twenty One Thousand, One Hundred and Sixty Five Naira, Fifty Seven Kobo (N66,221,165.57k) was expended out of the total Income said to have been generated above, without approval from His Excellency the Executive Governor of Bauchi State and no budget provision in that respect….”. Here too, spent and expended were used albeit wrongly for emphasis towards a mischievous tendency. In the same paragraph that insinuated refund of over Sixteen Million Naira by the Sole Administrator was re-echoed.
My simple response to these three ‘abridged findings’ I call ‘shots’ by this special audit team is that no such amount was missing in Yankari Resort and Safari Limited. And going by any good dictionary definition of Income – it is the money that a person, a region, a country etc. earns from work, from investing money, from business etc. — it is also the money you have left to spend after tax, etc. This therefore means that our total collection does not necessarily constitute an income to the government, it is money earned by the food supplier, diesel and petrol supplier, housekeeping materials supplier, bed sheets and towels suppliers, cooking gas suppliers, drinks and beverages suppliers, perishable food items supplier, laundry, and other outsourced maintenance and services in the resort and the Reserve in general. We also pay tax as a limited liability company. So the ‘staggering amount’ spent or expended by the Sole Administrator is a mandatory needful duty of settling partners in business and necessary upkeep of the Reserve.
Moreover, our collection within the period in question was not N82,467,059.11 as ‘discovered’ by the team, but N71,796,886.61 as authenticated by our books. And our expenditure, which was negligently reduced to make the amount supposedly missing to look big and catchy was actually higher than the ‘staggering’ N66,221,165.57 alleged. We spent N71,441,197.53 as per our verifiable books.
The issue of His Excellency’s approval will be discussed later in this reply.
Outstanding Credit Sales for the Period 01/01/2016 – 31/07/2016
This is particularly ridiculous and an exhibition of high level mediocrity by the special audit team. It says that: “In the course of our audit it was observed that services valued at Thirty Eight Million, Three Hundred and One Thousand, Four Hundred and Fifty Naira (N38,301,450.00k) were rendered to various organizations on Credit Sale between the period 1/1/2016 – 31/7/2016. And on the wrongly lettered appendix the organizations were listed including the CBN.
What this seems to suggest is that there is another over N38million in addition to the alleged over N82million generated within the span of seven months. I know many things that were thought impossible have been demystified and made possible by M.A. Abubakar’s administration but N120million within seven months in Yankari at this time certainly looks illusory. All these payments were in the bank statements supplied for the exercise but because the whole exercise was premeditated the figures could not be seen. Some of this analogue auditors need to be digitized so as not to be misleading the government with unthinkable figures that are analytically impossible.
Procurement of Diesel Quantity
With the epileptic and often inadequate supply from PHCN, the resort is run almost exclusively on generators. These generators consume between 40 and 50 litres of diesel per hour depending on whether there is a full house or not. And moreover, power from PHCN if any, comes with extremely low current such that it is disregarded in favour of generators especially for the daily routine of pumping water. It takes about 19 hours to fill the surface water reservoirs and then several more hours of separate pumping to the overhead tank to be able to distribute water with the required pressure. Such power requirements is not feasible with PHCN, hence the increased purchase of diesel.
For the period under review diesel was selling on the average of N200/litre and at 50litres/hour for only 3 months it would have cost us over N21million. And if we spent a little above N14million in 7 months without recourse to demanding funds from the government, I think we should be commended for prudence but not castigated as you would want us to be.
Storage
We have an organized store with store officers and relevant store documents properly sent from the central stores. We may not have fuel store facilities to take bulk storage of more than 3,000 litres but we actually don’t need that now, because we can hardly afford to buy such quantity. Occasionally we buy diesel as per our needs but more often as per our affordability. To say that our purchases are not receipted or properly processed is not true. This is the best era of record keeping Yankari Resort and Safari Limited has seen in the last 18 to 20 years.
His Excellency’s Approval
As you rightly pointed out, we buy diesel almost on a daily basis and I hasten to add that, yes, we buy diesel only when we need it. Most of our purchases, not only diesel, but including perishables are most times done by suppliers on trust and paid only when we are buoyant enough through either guests payments or event hosting. If we get deposits in advance before an event we purchase what the event requires. It will certainly be a mission impossible to suggest that each and every of such purchases must go to His Excellency for approval since our requirements are most of the times very abrupt. And unless incase of cumulative debts we hardly exceed N1million.
Besides, His Excellency appointed his Special Adviser on Special Duties and a member of the State Executive Council as a Sole Administrator with a mandate to bring the Reserve back to its lost glory. This appointment for all intents and purposes is an intervention, is a rescue mission and unless you are privy to an information that I don’t have, it goes without saying that such an appointment comes with a commensurate authority to incur expenditure. And if for every kobo needed to run the reserve from the accruals generated His Excellency must append his signature, then the Sole Administrator should be accused and pronounced guilty for lacking executive capacity.
Also your claim that over N14million was spent on diesel in a period that there were no much activities is laughable. How then was the whole money generated if there were no much activities? Since my appointment Yankari Resort and Safari Limited has enjoyed no subvention from the government, not even a takeoff grant and infect it has not been in the budget since 2015. His Excellency realized that Yankari Resort and Safari is dully registered as a limited liability company and I share his wisdom in letting it remain like that even if we have to run it as a revolving fund for now until such a time, soon, that it will be a full blown revenue generating outfit.
Finally in your forwarding letter you categorically mentioned that the report has been discussed with me by Gambo Sadeeq A, the inspecting officer. Actually, I am seeing the report for the first time and I was wondering how we could have discussed it without having gone through it. Certainly we have discussed many issues during his short on and off stay in Yankari including of course the difficulties they were finding in their rush to reach a conclusion. A premeditated conclusion aimed at intimidating the stubborn Habu Mamman. My response was characteristically shocking to him when he finally gathered steam to put a monetary demand which he claimed was for you and some members of Public Accounts Committee. He also admitted that the inclusion of 2014 and 2015 was a gimmick but the real target was me. “I would rather resign than breach the trust bestowed on me”, I told him to his face.
I still remember vividly during the same ‘abridged’ period, your department had cause to organize a workshop for members of the Bauchi State House of Assembly for about five days which was financed by the government. Somehow only two days were spent in Yankari and my staff were accosted by your foot soldiers to issue bills and receipts for five days. My staff sought for my permission which I vehemently refused and warned them against such unpatriotic acts. I remember telling your staff on phone that he should be ashamed of himself as an auditor to engage in such unwholesome acts, especially in government of change in which I am a stakeholder.
If my stance on this issues hurts you, it will certainly require much more than a concocted audit report to get a pound of flesh from me, even in an ‘abridged’ form, the Sole Administrator concluded.
However, findings by this medium shows that the governor is yet to take any action on the apparent disparities in the audit report and Engr Habu Mamman’s response to it. There is a clear case of wrongdoing, audited and reported, and, could not be defended by a poorly written and seemingly vindictive response.
It is expected of Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar to walk his talk, especially with his involvement in series of anti-corruption summits. Since his assumption to power in 2015, the governor has organized two anti-corruption summits in Bauchi, in collaboration with ICPC/EFCC. But his action of sweeping the clear wrongdoing in Yankari Resort under the carpet, leaves much to be desired in the anti-corruption thrust of Governor Abubakar.
In the same vein, it has been observed by this medium, from both the audit report and the response of the Sole Administrator, that Yankari Resort and Safari Limited is not a worthy venture anymore, hence, government should do
something about this business that is only gulping taxpayers money without any corresponding return on investment.
See Full Report Below:
Source: Bauchi Leaks
