House Orders Refund of N33.5m Spent On Unauthorised Trips.

The House Of Representatives Public Accounts Committee has directed the Federal Ministry Of Transportation to recover and remit N33,563,469.10 to Government treasury after it was discovered that the funds were spent on unauthorised foreign travel.

The directive was issued on Monday during the committee’s hearing chaired by representative Bamidele Salam on the 2021 Auditor-General’s report. The audit revealed that three officials from the Ministry were paid a total of $3,000 in contingency allowances for trips to Kenya, South Africa, Morocco, Greece And France without the necessary approvals or documentation showing how the funds were utilised. The action forms part of broader financial irregularities uncovered in the Ministry’s accounts, as the audit report raised five major queries against the Ministry.