National Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has been indicted over non-remittance of N1.439 billion operational surplus to the Federation Account.

The development, accord­ing to the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), contra­dicts the Fiscal Responsibil­ity Act of 2007, Section 2 of which makes it mandatory for government agencies to remit certain percentage of their op­erational surplus to the Federa­tion Account.

The Act states that ‘’Not­withstanding the provisions of any written law governing the corporation, each corpora­tion shall establish a general reserve fund and shall allocate thereto at the end of each fi­nancial year, one-fifth of its operating surplus for the year, the balance of the operating surplus shall be paid into the consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federal Government not later than one month follow­ing the statutory deadline for publishing each corporation’s accounts’’.

Head of Policy & Standard of FRC, Mohammed Ola Ti­jani, said that following the re­view of NAFDAC’s account it was discovered that the agency has a deficit of N1.439 billion.

‘‘We have reviewed your accounts from 2007 – 2009 and has discovered that you have to pay N1.439 billion to the Federation Accounts as de­manded by law’’ he said.

According to Tijani, a close look at NAFDAC’s ac­count shows that it generated N491,252 million surplus in 2007, N857,132 million in 2008 and N607,680 million in 2009 but paid N64, 048 mil­lion to the federation account in 2007, N93 million in 2008 and N105,000 million in 2009. The account books, he said, also indicates that NAFDAC 2007outstanding stood at N427,204 million, N763,565 in 2008 and N502,680 mil­lions in 2009. Acting Chairman of FRC, Mr. Victor Chinemerem Muruako, said that NAFDAC would be sanctioned if it de­lays the payments further.

‘‘I would have appreci­ated it if the DG of NAFDAC himself was here. I will only appeal to your management to hurriedly pay this money to the government’s purse, fail­ing which, we will write dam­aging reports on your agency.”

The Federal Government, he said, needs this money to build infrastructure and create employment for the youths and “we will not relent on our efforts to assist government recover all the monies out there?”

In his remarks, the repre­sentative of NAFDAC and Director of Finance and Ac­counts, Mr. Ademola Mog­bojumi, said he will take the message back to the Director-General, Dr. Paul Orhii for action.