Ministry of Communications Faces ₦345.5 Million Duplicate Payment Issue - Audit Report

The Auditor-General of the Federation has raised concerns about a possible ₦345.5 million duplicate payment by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy to a contractor working on the Abuja ICT Park project.

This information came from the Auditor-General’s Annual Report on Non-Compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of the Federal Government for the year ending 31 December 2024.

The special audit focused on the communication ministry from 1 January to 31 December 2021. It highlighted 14 issues related to the planning, funding, procurement, and execution of the ICT Park project.

During this project, Isa Ali Pantami was the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy. He served from 2019 until 2023, appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari. Bosun Tijani took over as minister, appointed by President Bola Tinubu.

₦345.5 Million Duplicate Payment

In Issue 13 of the findings, titled "Loss of Fund Due to Duplicated Payments to Contractor," the Auditor-General noted that the ministry made two separate payments of ₦345,499,262.74 each. These payments were meant to be the third part of the 15 percent mobilization advance to the contractor.

The payment was for establishing the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Park in Abuja. The Permanent Secretary approved the first payment on 19 January 2022 with payment voucher No. FMCDE/CAP/606/2021 dated 24 January 2022.

The same Permanent Secretary approved the second payment on 17 January 2023 through payment voucher No. FMCDE/CAP/149/2022 dated 8 February 2023. The report indicated that both payment vouchers had the same contract references, amounts, and descriptions, which suggested a duplicate payment.

The report also mentioned that there was no record showing that the first payment had been reversed or adjusted. There were no internal memos or journal entries linking the 2023 approval to any earlier transactions. These gaps highlighted a lack of supervision, record checks, and payment verification in the Ministry.

The Finance and Accounts Department did not explain the repeated approval or the absence of reconciliation between the Cash Book and Vote Book, according to the report.

The findings stated that the contractor claimed it received only one payment in 2023. However, they provided a bank statement that did not include the important period between 2 January 2022 and 8 February 2023. This made it hard to verify their claim.

The audit pointed out that these payments raised concerns about possible fund diversion and loss of public money. This problem was linked to weaknesses in the ministry's internal control systems.

The ministry did not respond to the claims of duplicate payments related to the contract. The Auditor-General suggested that ₦345.499 million should be recovered and sent back to the Treasury. Evidence of this remittance should be sent to the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly.