Trouble looms as senate asks SMEDAN to account for N298m

The Senate on Tuesday asked the Small and Medium Enterprises Agency of Nigeria to account for N298m advance payment it granted to some officials of the agency in 2013.

Chairman of the Senate Public Accounts Committee, Senator Mathew Urhogbide, gave the directive while acting on the 2015 query of the Auditor General of the Federation.

He frowned at the failure of the SMEDAN to present supporting documents of the N298m spent by some of its officials in 2013.

Efforts by the Director General of SMEDAN, Dikko Radda, to defend the spending before the committee did not succeed as all the documents presented before the committee to justify the spending were the expenses of 2014.

Responding to the evidence presented by the SMEDAN, the representative of AuGF, Adeagbo Ajibola, said the documents presented before the committee were those of 2014 and not of 2013.

But, the SMEDAN DG claimed that it was a mixed up when they were compiling the documents.

The chairman of the committee however frowned on the failure of SMEDAN to present necessary documents before the committee, saying the excuse given by the agency was not tenable.

The query reads, “Audit review of the Internal Auditor report made available revealed that in December 2013 a total amount of N298m as advances.”

But in a written response of the agency before its appearance on Tuesday, SMEDAN stated, “The agency’s internal auditors’ observations were fully addressed and all personal and non-personal advances granted for the period under review have been dully retired.

“Meanwhile, as advised cash advances will be retired as when due, and successive advance will not be granted without retirement of previous one.” Punch