Senate Summons FAAN MD Over N1.5bn Indebtedness To NiMeT

The Senate has summoned the Managing Director of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, Rabiu Yadudu, to explain his agency’s alleged failure to remit N1.5bn meant to be the the internally generated revenue of the Nigeria Meteorological Agency in the last six years.

Chairman of the Senate Public Accounts Committee, Senator Matthew Urhoghide, gave the directive at the last sitting of the panel.

The MD of FAAN did not appear before the panel to respond to the allegation of non-remitttance of 10 per cent landing charges to NIMET.

Urhoghide said, “We have earlier invited FAAN to appear before us but the MD refused to show up.

“We may be compelled to demand a warrant of arrest to be issued against the FAAN MD because we consider his action as an insult against the legislative arm of government.”

SPAC is currently considering the 2016 report of the Auditor General for the Federation.

One of the queries contained in the report alleged that FAAN owed NIMET the sum of N1.5bn to as unpaid arrears of 10 per cent landing charges.

Part of the query read, “Examination of the agency’s (NiMeT) approved Internally Generated Revenue and Expenditure Budget revealed that the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria owed a total of N1.5bn to the agency as unpaid arrears of 10 per cent landing charges.”

NiMeT in its response lamented that efforts to make FAAN management to remit the money had not yielded positive results.

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.

“We had received assurances from them (FAAN) that the payment of the debt will commence in 2018.

“We had 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.”

An official of NiMeT confided in our correspondent that the agency had been writing FAAN since 2010 to demand payment when the debt was about N900m.