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B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
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Fraud: FG suspends Export Expansion Grant scheme EBHOHON IKHURIONAN, Abuja DUE to a multi-billion nairafraud uncovered at theExport Expansion (EEG) scheme, the Federal Government has suspended the project which was to facilitate and encourage local manufacturers for export promotion. Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Ufot Ekaette, in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday said the report of a comprehensive study into the operations of the scheme revealed massive fraud, grave abuse of policy and process. He said: "The operation was replete with haphazard docu-mentation, errors and irregularities, inaccurate record keeping and wrong computerisation. The anomalies have cost the government a lot of money while making little impact on local production, much less export." According to Ekaette, though about N300 billion had so far gone to these exporters, "there is no evidence that there is a corresponding plough back in terms of investment." Ekaette cited moribund com-panies which kept making demands on the organisation, noting that they used some companies with the same management and chief executive officers and had claimed more than N4.8 billion by the end of last year. He added: "One company which received more than N2 billion declared less than N500 million profit while another company had received a grant of about N1.1 billion and declared a profit of N54 million." Some companies that were not into manufacturing were able to export "manufactured goods" and received ECG grants for products such as agricultural produce that did not qualify. There were cases where proceeds in respect of exports were received several months before the date of shipment," Ekaette said. However, Ekaette assured that all current claims in profiles would only be validated through a Special Validation Exercise to be completed within three months. The embargo, the SGF said, would be lifted after the scheme had been redesigned for re-implementation and new guidelines put in place, adding that the exercise was expected to last for three months. The EEG scheme which is meant to promote export and encourage bona fide manufacturing will not be discontinued, Ekaette said, pointing out that it would be streamlined to reduce, if not totally eliminate abuses and other malpractices that characterised it in the past. |
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