The House of Representatives Committee on Finance questioned the National Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) for incurring expenditures of N3.15 billion while reporting a revenue of N2.89 billion for the first quarter of 2024.
The query arose during the committee’s monitoring of the revenue of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Akwada James, the Director of Finance and Administration at NIPC, explained that the N2.89 billion was the projected expenditure for the entire year.
However, Chairman James Faleke criticized the mismatch, insisting that the expenditure for a quarter should match the revenue for that period, not the entire year.
Faleke questioned how NIPC could spend more than its revenue and who authorized this excess spending. Akwada responded that the format was provided by the budget office, but Faleke rejected this explanation, demanding clarity on the authority behind the overspending.
The committee also highlighted that NIPC spent 20% of its revenue in 2023, contrary to the expectation that a fully funded agency should remit 100% of its revenue.
Faleke demanded the letter from the Federal Ministry of Finance that supposedly authorized this expenditure, threatening personal financial accountability for NIPC officials if the authorization was not confirmed.
Additionally, the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) revealed that they had not received NIPC’s audited financial statements since 2019.
Consequently, Faleke ordered NIPC’s Managing Director, Aisha Rimi, to appear before the committee with comprehensive records on June 5, 2024. Faleke also suggested involving the Accountant General of the Federation to address the discrepancies in NIPC’s financial records.
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