The Senate has uncovered how the Board of Directors of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc (NSPMC) paid N14 billion salary increase to all its staff members without the approval of the National Salaries Wages, Incomes and Wages Commission.
Gatekeepers News reports that this revelation was made by Senator Ahmed Wadada, the Chairman of the Senate Public Accounts Committee, during a session at the upper chamber on Monday where the NSPMC management appeared before the committee regarding the 2019 report of the Auditor General of the Federation.
The Auditor General’s report highlighted that the NSPMC Board of Directors approved N14 billion for salaries and allowances between 2016 and 2019 without seeking approval from the National Salaries, Wages, Incomes, and Wages Commission (NSWIWC).
According to Article 3 of the NSIWC Act, 1990, this commission is mandated to advise the Federal Government on national incomes policy and recommend income growth proportions for wage increases, among other responsibilities.
In response to these findings, the Managing Director of the NSPMC, Alhaji Ahmed Halilu, initially claimed that the company didn’t require approval from the salaries and wages regulatory body because it was registered under the Companies and Allied Matters Act.
However, he later admitted before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts that they were mistaken in not seeking approval from the NSIWC before implementing the new salary and allowance increases.
Halilu further said: “It has come to our notice that we must obtain approval before salaries increase.
“It is salaries paid over the period of three years.
“On this ground, it was not misappropriated considering the volume of works done by thousands of staff over this period.”
Many members of the Senate committee expressed their dissatisfaction with this illegal payment of public funds and suggested that the misappropriated funds should be refunded, with the Deputy Whip of the Senate, Senator Nwebonyi Onyeka specifically pointing out the necessity for this reimbursement.
