The National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), under the leadership of Bala Wunti, paid US$250,000 as a provisional sum to Etihad Energy Ltd without the supporting documentation required for the expenditure, according to a document reviewed by KeepLoss.
The payment was identified during a review of Payment Voucher No. 1500000234, raised in favour of Etihad Energy Ltd for consultancy services relating to the update of the Lake Chad Basin and Benue operational areas security risk assessment.
It was discovered that the US$250,000 provisional sum included in the total contract payment of US$3,714,456.25 was not properly accounted for. According to the finding, a provisional sum is to be accessed by a contractor upon submission of a detailed request to the agency stating the purpose for which the funds are required, followed by approval through a memo and the issuance of a payment voucher before payment.
It was discovered that this process was not followed by NAPIMS before the US$250,000 was paid to the contractor.
Financial Regulation 603 requires all payment vouchers to be supported by relevant documents. Also, Financial Regulation 622 requires the original payment voucher and supporting documents, including invoices and warrants, to be stamped “PAID” immediately after payment.
In addition, Financial Regulation 708 provides that payment should not be made for services that have not been performed or goods that have not been supplied.
Financial Regulation 3104(iii) further provides that a public officer who fraudulently pays a contractor for work not executed shall refund the amount wrongly paid, be removed from the schedule and have the matter referred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for prosecution.
It was therefore identified that the payment of the US$250,000 provisional sum without the required request, approval and supporting documentation is a failure of the prescribed payment control process.