NIPOST: House Accuses BPE of Spending N10.4bn on Registration of 2 Collapsed Firms

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The House of Representatives has uncovered the sum of N10 billion spent by the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) on the registration of two companies for the Nigeria Postal Service, which later folded up one year after take-off.

The committee added that there was no way a reasonable Nigerian would believe that N10.4 billion was spent to register the two companies only for them to fold up barely one year after.

The Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts, Hon. Bamidele Salam, made this known during an investigative hearing into the audit queries issued against the Bureau by the office of the Auditor General of the Federation (OAuGF).

The audit query indicated that the two companies namely: NIPOST Transport and Logistics Limited and NIPOST Property reportedly took off in May 2023 and folded up through a presidential directive in May 2024.

Responding to the allegation, Head of Finance and Accounts, BPE, who represented the Director General of the agency, Imam Rilwan noted that the issue of registering the two companies for NIPOST was approved in 2017.

He added that the approval paved the way for the BPE to expend about N423 million in registering and carrying out other activities for the eventual take off of the companies.

Rilwan stressed that while about N10 billion was given to the two companies as take-off funds, about N400 million was given to the BPE to prepare the ground for the take-off of the companies.

He explained that the money eventually released in 2023, the Bureau had to recover its money, adding that the N423 million given to the BPE was used to rent office accommodation and carry out other essential services.

He said while the Bureau paid rent for the two companies from 2022, the companies took possession of the offices in May 2023, while they folded up in May 2024.

Rilwan noted that all property belonging to the two companies have been officially handed over to NIPOST management.

However, Salam, who was not satisfied with his explanation, said spending money from government coffers before the money is released is a clear violation of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act.