{"id":20,"date":"2018-03-19T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-19T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2018-03-25T11:47:25","modified_gmt":"2018-03-25T11:47:25","slug":"n30bn-nsitf-fraud-labour-plans-nationwide-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.quriusolutions.com\/?p=20","title":{"rendered":"N30bn NSITF fraud, Labour plans nationwide strike"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Nigerians should brace for a nationwide strike as workers have bemoaned the Federal Government\u2019s attitude over the N30bn fraud allegedly perpetuated by the last Board of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund and have threatened to down tools soon.<\/div>\n
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Acting on the petition, EFCC operatives investigated the allegations and it was alleged that between 2012 and 2015, the accused received kickbacks in dollars while discharging their duties \u201cand conspired to divert about N18bn, being contribution from the Federal Government as take-off grants and Employees Compensation Scheme for Ministries, Departments and Agencies.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The EFCC said the money was diverted into personal accounts by an e-payment mandate. The offence is said to contravene Section 311 of the Penal Code cap 532 LFN (Abuja) 1990 and punishable under Section 312 of the same code.<\/div>\n
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According to labour unions in the country, the NSITF, set up to bring succour to the working class, has been looted over the years and it has not been able to fulfil the reason for its establishment.<\/div>\n
Trouble started for a former Managing Director of the NSITF, Umar Abubakar, and his co-defendants, (some of who are former board members and current staff of the Fund), when a whistle-blower petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission accusing them of abusing their positions to divert public funds running into billions of naira.<\/div>\n
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The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, in line with a presidential directive, had recently inaugurated all the boards of parastatals under the ministry except that of the NSITF due to the alleged fraud discovered in the agency.<\/div>\n
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Giving reasons why the board was not inaugurated alongside others, Ngige said he had the consent of the President to stay action on the NSITF board pending the outcome of the administrative panel of enquiry set up by the ministry \u201cto investigate the mindless looting of the agency.\u201d<\/div>\n
He urged members of the other boards inaugurated to be accountable in the discharge of their mandates to avoid a repeat of the rot in the NSITF.<\/div>\n
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Ngige said, \u201cThe operations of the various parastatals must strictly conform to financial regulations, especially Section 32 of the Procurement Act. The audited accounts of the parastatals must always be prepared and submitted to the relevant authorities as and when due.<\/div>\n
\u201cThe NSITF, for example, is reeling from massive looting with no audited accounts for five years. A whooping sum of N5bn was unearthed by an audit panel of enquiry as having been taken out of the<\/div>\n
NSITF coffers with First Bank in a single day without vouchers.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The minister added, \u201cWorse still, the organisation maintained no cash book as required by financial regulations. This resulted in massive looting of funds by board members acting in concert with the management staff.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWhen we say N5bn was taken in one day, that\u2019s not the only amount missing. Over N30bn cannot be accounted for and the members of the past board participated actively in the looting.\u201d<\/div>\n
Adodo, however, said that members of the ULC hoped that after the probe, \u201cthe NSITF will be put in proper shape to deliver on its mandate.\u201d<\/div>\n

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