On Monday, the Senate uncovered a shocking revelation that the Board of Directors of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc (NSPMC) had allegedly authorized a ₦14 billion salary increase for all its staff members, all without securing approval from the National Salaries Wages, Incomes and Wages Commission.
This discovery was made by Senator Ahmed Wadada, the Chairman of the Senate Public Accounts Committee, during a session held in Abuja, where the NSPMC management appeared before the committee to address the 2019 report from the Auditor-General of the Federation.
The Auditor-General’s report disclosed that between 2016 and 2019, the NSPMC’s Board of Directors sanctioned a total of ₦14 billion for salaries and allowances without the necessary consent from the salaries and wages regulatory body.
According to Article 3 of the NSIWC Act, 1990, the commission is mandated to advise the Federal Government on national income policy, recommend appropriate income growth allocations for general wage increases, report on wage trends, and propose wage increase guidelines, among other responsibilities.
The Managing Director of NSPMC, Ahmed Halilu, initially argued in his written submission that the company didn’t require approval from the salaries and wages regulatory body, citing its registration under the Companies and Allied Matters Act. However, he later admitted before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts that not seeking approval from the NSIWC before implementing the new salary and allowance increases was a mistake.
Halilu further clarified, “We have now realized that we must obtain approval before instituting salary increases. These salary increments were disbursed over a three-year period, and we believe they were justified given the substantial work carried out by our numerous staff during this time.”
In response to these revelations,B nearly all committee members expressed their discontent with the unauthorized payments, emphasizing that public funds had been expended without following due process.
Senator Nwebonyi Onyeka, the Deputy Whip of the Senate, underscored that government funds had been misused and stressed the importance of refunding the misappropriated funds.
