ICPC Does Not Spend Recovered Funds — Owasanoye

The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Commission, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, said that
the agency does not spend money recovered from individuals and
corporate entities.

Owasanoye, who made the clarification when he appeared before
the Senate Committee on Finance, submitted that all monies
recovered and generated by the commission are directly into the
coffers of the federal government, as the agency has no power to
retain or spend recovered funds.

He said that the Commission has a designated account for the
recovery of proceeds of crime called ‘ICPC Recovery Account’ into
which all recovered funds are lodged for onward payment into the
Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federal Government.

Owasanoye said, “ICPC was not contemplated as a revenue
generating agency. In the course of our work, we do recover funds;
however ICPC does not spend recovered assets. We do not use part of
it for our work.”

The Chairman argued that rather than spend money illegally, the
commission had helped to boost the tax revenue of the government by
bringing defaulters to book.

“When we investigate, we also look at the tax components and
bring defaulters into the tax net, which goes straight to the
Federal Inland Revenue Service.”

Earlier, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Solomon
Olamilekan Adeola, had expressed concern that Nigeria’s national
budget was becoming too dependent on loans partly due to
non-compliance to financial regulations by government revenue
generating agencies.

He said that the purpose of the investigative hearing was to
ensure that all government revenue generating agencies comply with
the Fiscal Responsibility Act which stipulates that 80 percent of
operational surplus be paid into the CRF.

He said, “The revenue generating agencies of the government have
taken solace and pleasure in diverting government’s money, taking
care of frivolous expenditure and making provision in audited
accounts that are fictitious in nature. The 2021 budget is to the
deficit of N6 trillion, government cannot continue this way.”

The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Commission, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, said that
the agency does not spend money recovered from individuals and
corporate entities.

Owasanoye, who made the clarification when he appeared before
the Senate Committee on Finance, submitted that all monies
recovered and generated by the commission are directly into the
coffers of the federal government, as the agency has no power to
retain or spend recovered funds.

He said that the Commission has a designated account for the
recovery of proceeds of crime called ‘ICPC Recovery Account’ into
which all recovered funds are lodged for onward payment into the
Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federal Government.

Owasanoye said, “ICPC was not contemplated as a revenue
generating agency. In the course of our work, we do recover funds;
however ICPC does not spend recovered assets. We do not use part of
it for our work.”

The Chairman argued that rather than spend money illegally, the
commission had helped to boost the tax revenue of the government by
bringing defaulters to book.

“When we investigate, we also look at the tax components and
bring defaulters into the tax net, which goes straight to the
Federal Inland Revenue Service.”

Earlier, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Solomon
Olamilekan Adeola, had expressed concern that Nigeria’s national
budget was becoming too dependent on loans partly due to
non-compliance to financial regulations by government revenue
generating agencies.

He said that the purpose of the investigative hearing was to
ensure that all government revenue generating agencies comply with
the Fiscal Responsibility Act which stipulates that 80 percent of
operational surplus be paid into the CRF.

He said, “The revenue generating agencies of the government have
taken solace and pleasure in diverting government’s money, taking
care of frivolous expenditure and making provision in audited
accounts that are fictitious in nature. The 2021 budget is to the
deficit of N6 trillion, government cannot continue this way.”