The office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has been summoned in the disbursement of N10.4 billion judgement debt settlement to beneficiaries.
The indictment came after his ministry could not succinctly render the account before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts.
Politics Nigeria gathered that his summoning followed consideration of the 2017 and 2018 reports of the Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC) chaired by Senator Mathew Uhroghide.
Following the development, the committee has ordered the Ministry of Justice to stop further disbursement of the Judgement debt.
It also ordered that the committee on settlement in the Justice Ministry be reconstituted within 30 days.
In another development, the Senate also ordered University of Ilorin, University of Abuja, University of Uyo, Federal University, Birim Kebbi, Federal University, Lafia, Federal University, Wukari, Modibo Adams University of Technology, Yola and Federal University of Petroleum, Effurun to refund N4.7 billion allegedly mismanaged.
The Auditor General’s reports for 2016 and 2017 indicted the seven universities, and was upheld by the Senate Public Accounts Committee. It was also considered and approved by the Senate.
The breakdown showed that University of Abuja mismanaged total of N1.3 billion in 2017, Federal University of Petroleum mismanaged N1.1 billion, University of Ilorin mismanaged N745 million, Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), N467 million, Federal University, Wukari, N43 million, Federal University Dutsinma, Katsina – N141 million, Federal University, Lafia – N32 million.
The indictment has been considered and sustained by the Senate and will be forwarded to the Secretary to Government of the Federation for further action.
On the Judgement debt, the Auditor-General, Anthony Ayine’s report stated that the committee saddled with the responsibility of managing the disbursement of judgement debt was dissolved in 2013.
