A SaharaReporters’ review of public payments portal, Govspend, has shown that a sum of over N55 million, was paid into the account of one Unoh Omolara, for the sendforth party of Udo Okonkwo Ekanem.
The payment was made by the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Okonkwo served as the permanent secretary, special duties of the ministry.
The payment for the party was made on September 13th, 2024.
According to the payment description, the event was scheduled to hold at Transcorp Hilton hotels on September 6th, 2024.
A snapshot of the document obtained by saharareporters from govspendFurther checks revealed that the event was confirmed by the ministry of finance on its website.
The ministry had noted that it celebrated the Ekanem in appreciation of his oustanding commitment.
Mr. Okokon Ekanem Udo, Permanent Secretary, Special DutiesThis is despite the provision of Chapter Seven, Section 713 of Nigeria’s Financial Regulations 2009 states that “Personal money shall in no circumstances be paid into a government bank account, nor shall any public money be paid into a private account.”
The money spent on the sendforth was twice the amount spent to set up 28 boreholes in Jigawa State.
According to details on the Govspend website, N28.3 million was spent on drilling twenty-three solar powered borehole and five numbers hand pump boreholes in Jigawa State.
This would mean that this money spent on sendforth, half of it would have provided same number of solar powered boreholes and hand pumps in other locations of the country.
There have been concerns over prudence in management of government resources by different ministries’ department and agencies.
Although, the government has expressed its commitment to accountability, experts say there are loopholes exploited by different government parastatals.
