Secrets Reporters
A fresh review of spending at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) judiciary has uncovered more than ₦322 million in payments made without the basic paperwork that should prove the work was actually done, raising fears that public money may have gone to jobs that never happened.
The payments were made during the 2019 fiscal year, when the FCT judiciary was under the leadership of its then Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Ishaq Bello. The findings cover two separate transactions: ₦285,120,000.00 for the supply of diesel, and ₦37,620,000.00 for cleaning, landscaping and fumigation services.
According to the review, neither payment was backed by the documents that normally accompany such spending. There were no store receipts or issue vouchers to show the diesel was received and used, no job-completion certificates to confirm the cleaning and landscaping work was finished, and no schedule showing how much each cleaner was paid.
The rules are clear on this point. The Financial Regulations of 2009 specifically paragraphs 708, 603(i) and 415 require that payments of this kind be supported by proper records before public funds are released.
Financial Regulation 603 states, “All vouchers shall contain full particulars of each service such as dates, numbers, quantities, distances and rates….and will invariably be supported by relevant documents such as LPOs, invoices, special letters of authority, time sheets, rates etc.”
Officials who examined the transactions warned that the missing paperwork leaves the door open to two serious problems: payments for jobs that were never carried out, and the loss of public funds that cannot be accounted for.
When questioned, management did not deny the gap. Instead, it offered an explanation, saying the evidence showing how the diesel was used is attached and spread across different court locations in the FCT as well as the residences of Hon. Judges, and that this can be verified.
That response, however, does not address the missing store records, completion certificates or payment schedules that the regulations demand.
For now, the money has been spent, the work remains unverified on paper, and the burden of proof rests on those who approved the payments.
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