Peter Jack: Committee indicts former NITDA DG of misappropriating N630 million

The committee also stated in the report that the embattled former director general was found wanting as regards handling the “finances and procurement processes of the agency, including irregularities in staff recruitment.”

NITDA DG, Mr. Peter Jack was suspended by the minister of communications, Adebayo Shittu, two weeks ago over alleged “misconduct”.

Now the Daily Trust reports that the audit committee set up by Shittu to investigate the NITDA DG, wrote in a report leaked to the media yesterday that the NITDA boss “gave approval for the disbursement of N630 million within two months without due process under questionable and suspicious circumstances.”

The committee also stated in the report that the embattled former director general was found wanting as regards handling the “finances and procurement processes of the agency, including irregularities in staff recruitment.”

The committee also said it “observed that several approvals for payment totalling N301.6 million were made through the agency’s staff private accounts under the guise of cash advance disbursements,” according to a report by Nigeria CommunicationsWeek.

 

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The auditors said the payments, ranging from N1.1 million to N49.7 million, were disbursed to 18 members of staff between November 12 and December 31, 2015.

Mr. Jack also allegedly disbursed N153 million to 26 staff of the agency “as claims for embarking on official trips without evidence of embarking on the journey” within the same period last year.

The former NITDA DG allegedly paid himself over N52 million as well for official trips to India, United States, Portugal and Canada within two months.

Mr. Peter Jack could not be reached for comment, according to reports by both the Daily Trust and Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, as his phone lines seem to have been switched off.