The House of Representatives Committee on Public Account has summoned a commercial bank (name withheld) to appear before it next Tuesday and furnish the Committee with the details of its financial transactions with the Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) from inception.
The Public Account Committee chaired by Wole Oke (PDP, Osun) made this demand Thursday when the Chairman and the members of the board of FCT- IRS appeared before the Committee to brief it on details of the Service activities from inception in 2015 till date.
Oke said at the last interface with the FCT-IRS, the Committee uncovered a commercial bank account being maintained by the FCT IRS and had summoned the Managing Director of the Bank who availed Committee with a copy of the bank statement of the account the Agency maintained with the bank.
He said the bank statement was further to the denial of the Agency over payment of salaries and allowances to officials of the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) seconded to FCT-IRS.
The Chairman said the investigative hearing was in view of the fact that even as President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered for a Treasury Single Account (TSA) with Central Bank of Nigeria by Ministries Departments and Agencies, but FCT-IRS was still maintaining account with commercial banks.
“We all know that President Muhammudu Buhari ordered that all agencies of government should maintain account with CBN under Treasury Single Account regime. So, this Committee is worried that some agencies are still maintaining accounts with Commercial banks”, he lamented.
Responding to questions by the Committee Chairman and other Members, Isiaku Ismaila, Director of Treasury FCT and Deputy Chairman FCT-IRS Board, insisted that the last transaction done into the said account which amounted to N150 million was in May 2015 whereas the TSA policy began in September.
“My responsibility on the FCT-IRS board is non-executive. So, I can only speak on what we have discussed in the board, but anything operational in terms of finances or administration, I am not competent to say anything about it. However, I have a duty to give this committee any information they desire to the best of my knowledge once I know.
