Senate threatens to arrest FAAN MD over failure to remit N1.5bn

The upper chamber of the National Assembly has threatened to issue a warrant of arrest on the Managing Director of Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Rabiu Yadudu over failure to remit N1.5 billion Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMeT) Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) for the past six years.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Matthew Urhoghide, who issued this threat, explained that the committee had asked the Managing Director of FAAN to appear before it to respond to the allegation of non-remittance of NiMeT 10 per cent from landing charges.

The Chairman said: “We have asked FAAN to appear before us and refuse to show up. We will be compelled to issue a warrant of Arrest on the FAAN Managing Director. It is an insult to us not to appear before us. The action of the FAAN Managing Director is uncivilized. If he does not care, we will declare him that he does not have the responsibility to hold public office. FAAN failed to up with their N1.5 billion financial obligations.”

The Committee relied on the 2016 Auditor Generals of the Federation query, which accused the FAAN of indebtedness of N1.5 billion to NIMET as unpaid areas of 10 per cent landing charges.

The query reads: “Examination of the agency’s approved Internally Generated Revenue and expenditure budget revealed that Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) owed a total of N1.5 billion to the agency unpaid areas of 10 per cent landing charges.”

Responding to the allegation, NiMeT said: “Efforts have been made by NiMet management to recover the outstanding amount, such efforts include reconciliation meetings with FAAN and discussion with the Management of FAAN and we have received assurance from them that the payment of the debt will commence in 2018. We have been reliably informed that FAAN has included the amount vowed in their 2018 budget.”

However, up till the time of filing this report, FAAN is yet to remit the amount owed NiMet.

It was reliably gathered that NiMET had in 2010 wrote to demand the debt when the debt was about N900 million. The first correspondence was written to the Honorable Minister of Aviation on the 26th of August, 2010.

In the letter, NiMeT had complained that since August 2008 when FAAN engaged the services of MAEVIS for the collection of its revenue, including landing charges, nothing has been done.

The engagement of MAEVIS was expected to make it easier for FAAN to remit NiMeT’s share of the landing charge, but this did not happen, the unremitted 10 per cent landing charges for NiMeT has continued till now.

In another letter written on March 5, 2012, NIMET had informed the Managing Director of FAAN of the amount owed to the agency and another letter was written to the Managing Director of FAAN on the same debt on 8th November 2012 which has increased to N1.098 billion.

As of November 28, 2014, the debt owed by FAAN to NiMeT had increased to N1.5 billion and another letter was written to FAAN from NiMeT on 9 March 2015 on the same debt. The final letter was written on 5th October 2017

(Daily Independent)