Senate ad hoc committee on waivers uncovers massive fraud

There are indications that the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on Waivers has recorded a major breakthrough in its anti-corruption crusade as reports say it has uncovered many ways in which the waivers policy was being used to defraud the country of billions of naira.

The committee discovered that importers and relevant government agencies were involved in the deal that otherwise would have been a source of revenue to the Federation Account.

It will be recalled that the committee was set up in July to carry out holistic review of the policy with a view to determining revenue losses incurred by the government.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Adamu Aliero, while speaking to journalists on Friday in Abuja, said the outcome of the committee’s sitting would be made public during the public hearing and presentation of the final report to the Senate.

He said: “We have sent invitations to Ministries, Departments and Agencies like the Federal Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria and of course, the Nigerian Customs Service, to give us relevant information that will help us to carry out the assignment given us very effectively and in fact, unearth the rot which waivers have caused in the system.

“We are happy with the responses we have got so far from the MDAs. What we are doing now is to start compiling the reports and make our recommendations after which a public hearing will be held where the abuse of the policy either by importers or relevant government agencies will be made public to Nigerians.”

Aliero said the committee will be meeting again next Tuesday to take final decisions on how to go about the public hearing.