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The Nigeria Police Force has been flagged for multiple contract and payment irregularities amounting to N2,694,859,868.53.
It was revealed by the newly released Auditor-General’s Annual Report on Non-Compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses in MDAs for the year 2022.
The audit report detailed abandoned projects, unapproved contract awards, questionable payments, and the disbursement of funds for unexecuted works across several police departments at the Force Headquarters.
One of the cases highlighted in the report showed that 14 contracts worth N1,938,299,452.00, listed as ongoing projects in the 2022 budget, were abandoned.
Instead of completing the projects, the auditors said the police awarded new contracts that were not captured in the 2022 Appropriation Act.
The report added that these new contracts could not be traced to any legislative approval and were awarded and paid for without recourse to the approved budget.
In its response, police management said the projects had been rolled over since 2017 under a zero-based budgeting system.
It stated, “The immediate past administration operated a ‘zero-based’ budget; hence, the subject projects were rolled over from 2017 until date. The projects had attained various levels of completion but were not funded by successive police administrations, hence, the abandonment. It is advised that a sub-head be provided for inclusion in upcoming budgets to fund such abandoned projects so they can be completed.”
The report, however, recommended that the Inspector-General of Police be directed to recover and remit the affected funds to the treasury.
Another irregularity involved the construction of 12 one-bedroom en suite transit camps and the rehabilitation of an administrative block at the Police Pre-retirement Skills Acquisition Centre, Kudan, Kaduna State.
The contract was awarded for N141,082,359.45, and N111,635,864.64—representing 79 per cent of the contract sum—was paid in November and December 2022.
However, during an inspection in March 2024, auditors found that the transit camps had not been constructed.
Management responded that part of the work had been completed and that the consultant had instructed the contractor to return to site, but the auditors described the explanation as inadequate.
The report also raised concerns over irregular payments totalling N4,011,627.89 for additional works on the Inspector-General of Police Conference Room. Punch
