Subsidy Fraud: Akintola Williams Delloite Indicted, As Court Admits Two Documents In The Trial Of Walter Wagbatsoma

More indictments have surfaced in the trial of Walter Wagbatsoma, Adaoha Ugo-Ngadi and their company, Ontario Oil and Gas Ltd, a clique indicted for fraud of about N1.9bn in the fuel subsidy scheme.
A witness from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Sheu Muhammed, who last week began his testimony for the prosecution, today disclosed the culpability of Akintola Williams Delloite, the official auditing firm. The EFCC submitted two documents which were admitted as evidence by the trial judge, Mrs. Lateefat Okunnu, despite the strong effort of defence counsel Wole Olanipekunto scuttle their admittance on technical grounds.
The documents, extracts from the audit report of Akintola Williams Deloitte recommending payments for oil marketers that participated in fuel importation for Batch M10, October 2010 and Batch S10, January 2011, underline the role of the supposed government's "auditing firm" in the inflation of figures paid to the accused oil marketers.
Mr. Sheu revealed today that PPPRA and Akintola Williams Delloite do not actually audit or verify the fuel import claims of the marketers.  The witness further said that Ontario Oil and Gas Ltd benefited to the tune of N754 in over-payment in two transactions due to the indictable involvement of government agencies that ought to have verified their claims, including PPPRA and Akintola Williams Delloite.
Of the first transaction, Mr. Sheu said, "Our findings showed that Ontario Oil and Gas Ltd in the second quarter of 2010 discharged 12 million litres in the farm tank of  Integrated Oil Services Limited but claimed to have imported 19 million litres but Akintola Deloitte recommended that it supplied 18 million litres for which about N900m was paid.”
In that transaction, he said, Ontario Oil and Gas benefited about N340m, an inflated figure.
He also said that payment for 19 million liters was recommended by Akintola Williams Delloite in the second transaction when the company had imported only 10 million liters.
"The PPPRA and the government-appointed auditor, Akintola Williams Deloitte did not witness the discharge of the products," he affirmed.
He said Ontario Oil and Gas Ltd received another N414million over-payment in the second transaction, totaling N754 over-payment in fraudulent claims in only two transactions.
Another witness had initially testified to the involvement of the PPPRA in the fuel subsidy fraud by not also verifying the certificates with which the marketers claimed payments from the subsidy fund.
An employee of the PPPRA, Mr. Fakuade Babafemi and a Managing Partner at Akintola Williams Delloite, Mr. Ezekiel Ejidele, are also accused in the suit.
Justice Lateefat Okunnu adjourned till Tuesday for continuation of testimony by the prosecution witness.


sahara reporters