The Federal Government diverted N543.63bn for Natural Resources Development to fund the Independent National Electoral Commission and budget deficit, the Nigeria Extractive Industries and Transparency Initiative has said.
The diverted N543.63bn was also used to fund budget deficits, national security, and Nigeria Armed Forces, among others.
It was learnt on Tuesday that N543.63bn was released for various projects from the fund between 2012 and 2016 but a bulk of this amount was used to fund other sectors as opposed to the original purpose of establishing the fund.
Figures obtained from the latest Fiscal Allocation and Statutory Disbursement Audit 2012-2016 of the Nigeria Extractive Industries and Transparency Initiative also showed that the N543.63bn disbursement from the natural resources fund outstripped inflows by 11 per cent.
The report stated, “The Natural Resources Development Account was established to develop alternative mineral resources. The total revenue received from 2012 to 2016 was N486.26bn.
“Out of this amount, the statutory allocation was N374.15bn from both mineral and non-mineral revenue.
“A review of disbursement showed that N543.63bn was released for various projects in the period, meaning disbursement outstripped inflows by 11 per cent.”
It added, “Contrary to the purpose of the fund, it served as a borrowing fund for the Federal Government to meet its obligations in areas such as budget deficits, national security, Independent National Electoral Commission, Nigeria Armed Forces, among others.”
Source: Punch Newspaper.
