Govt agencies can’t tackle massive looting -Tambuwal

    
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, on Monday blamed the billions of naira stolen from public coffers on the inefficiency of existing government  financial  management agencies.

To address the problem,  Tambuwal said the proposed Nigerian Financial Intelligence Agency would help reduce the recklessness with which funds were stolen in Nigeria.

He spoke in Abuja as the House Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes conducted a public hearing on a Bill for an Act to Establish the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Agency.

“The bill will  no doubt help in rectifying the deficiencies in our financial system, especially the sheer number of loopholes that make it possible for people to perpetrate massive fraud and go unpunished,” Tambuwal told stakeholders at the hearing.

The speaker added, “The bill equally seeks to institutionalise the application of best practices in financial intelligence management in Nigeria. We have all seen the consequences of the reckless and cavalier manner that public officials and civil servants manage public funds.

“Today, billions of naira go missing in this country every year as a result of mismanagement and outright theft of money belonging to the commonwealth.

“We believe that this level of financial impunity is possible because of dubious accounting procedures and the lack of a specialised agency that able to get facts and details of these intricate web of corrupt practices and ensure that the perpetrators are successfully prosecuted.

“We want to move our nation from the prevailing system whereby only a select few is privy to the complex way that money gets moved around in this country and so they could hide under the shadows and perpetrate all kinds of scam.”