FG Fires Akintola Williams, Adekanola for Poor Oversight

The
Ministry of Finance
Saturday sacked the
accounting and auditing firms of
Akintola Williams & Co and
Adekanola & Co, for failing to
exercise due care in the audit
of fuel subsidy claims they
performed on behalf of federal
government in the management
of the Petroleum Support Fund
(PSF).
The ministry had engaged the
firms a couple of years ago to
verify documentations and
claims submitted by oil
marketers and importers so as
to ensure that only genuine
claims were paid.
Coincidentally, the House of
Representatives Ad-hoc
Committee which probed the
management of the subsidy
scheme had also blacklisted the
firms in its final report,
recommending a ban of three
years for the companies for
complicity and failure to do
what they were hired to do.
A statement from the Ministry
of Finance announcing the sack
of the firms reads: “Concerned
about the management of the
subsidy regime, the Federal
Ministry of Finance has for the
last two months been reviewing
aspects of the implementation
of the subsidy regime related
to its functions.
“The review has produced a lot
of useful details on what was
wrong with the system and
what needs to be done to
ensure improvement going
forward.
“The review process kicked off
in February when the ministry
and relevant government
agencies held a meeting with
bankers and marketers at the
instance of President Goodluck
Jonathan.
“This was followed by a
subsequent session with the
accounting and auditing firms to
re-evaluate their work.
“Based
on the review, the
ministry has taken the following
steps: the services of the audit
and accounting firms
responsible for certifying the
documents and claims of
marketers before payment
have been terminated. The
companies are Akintola Williams
and Co and Adekanola and Co.”
In addition, the ministry set up
a committee made up of
credible and experienced
persons from the private and
public sector with strong
technical component under the
chairmanship of Mr. Aigboje
Imoukuede, Group CEO of Access
Bank Plc, to examine the claims
of payment arrears for 2011
currently being made by
marketers.
“This
is to ensure that only
genuine claims are honoured,”
the ministry stated.
It added that it is also finalising
a new and more effective
system to replace the current
arrangement and, in this
regard, a second committee has
been set
up to propose a good
way to forward.
Based on other outcomes of
the review, the ministry stated
that it will take further actions
as necessary.
The
finance ministry also gave
notice that the Federal
Accounts Allocation Committee
(FAAC) has put on hold further
depletion of the Excess Crude
Account (ECA).



Source: Thisdaylive.com