Africa Press-Nigeria:
The House of Representatives is to investigate the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for engaging in extra budgetary spending of over 500 million dollars from Nigeria Export Supervision Scheme Fund.
The House is also to investigate the spending by the CBN and the Ministry of Finance over another extra-budgetary spending of about N700 billion from the same fund in contravention of section 80 of the constitution which stipulates that such funds must be appropriated before being utilised.
Adopting a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Rep. Abdullahi Sa’ad Abdulkadir on the need for urgent investigation and audit of the Nigeria Export Supervision Scheme Fund in view of the Joint rendition of account to the Auditor General of the Federation by the Ministry of Finance, the House directs its Committee on Public Account to carry out the investigation and report back within four weeks.
Abdulkadir said that the Pre-shipment Inspection of Export Act of 1966 requires that prior to the export of any goods from Nigeria, it must be inspected by an Inspection Agent, which in turn is required to issue, where appropriate, a Clean Certificate of inspection to the overseas buyer of the goods.
He said that both oil and non-oil export are liable to pre shipment inspection in respect of their quality, quantity and price while the Inspection Agent is required to issue to the Exporter a Provisional Certificate of inspection.
He said further that upon loading of the goods and conduct of a final inspection, where the goods satisfy the required thresholds as to quantity, quality and price, the inspection Agent will issue a Clean Certificate of inspection.
The lawmaker who is also the Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Public Account stressed that in order to engender transparency in the administration of the Pre shipment inspection programme, the Act requires the Inspection Agent to send an original copy of the Clean Certificate of Inspection to the Federal Ministry of Finance (Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning’, referred as ‘Federal Ministry of Finance) the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigerian Ports Authority, the exporter, the exporter’s bank for transmission to the buyer’s bank overseas and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
In the spirit of transparency and public accountability he said, the inspection Agent is obligated to furnish, weekly reports of successfully conducted pre shipment inspection to the Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Ministry of Commerce (now Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment) and the Central Bank of Nigeria
