The Senate Committee on Public Account, yesterday, queried the Federal Ministry of Environment over the alleged missing 55 vehicles in the ministry. The committee, chaired by Senator Mathew Urhoghide, issued the query, relying on the 2018 report of the Auditor-General of the Federation. The query reads: “Audit observed that 55 vehicles were not presented for physical inspection, all efforts to inspect and confirm their existence proved abortive and the exact location of these vehicles could not be ascertained. “We are aware that some officers take ministry vehicles away with them when going on transfer or retirement.
“The audit further observed that the motor vehicles logbooks had not been updated, making it difficult to track the movement of these vehicles and track their record of maintenance. It is also noted that some official vehicles carry private plate numbers and registered numbers.
“The above anomalies are because of failure on the part of the management to ensure proper record keeping due process in the ministry. “Government vehicles may be diverted for private use; unauthorized journeys may be undertaken due to lack of adherence to internal control system put in place.
“No response was received from the management of our report. “The permanent secretary should account for the 55 vehicles not presented during the audit. He should also be sanctioned in accordance with the provision of FR3129.” The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Abel Olumuyiwa, however, was not able to defend the allegation. All his efforts to present some vehicles as part of the alleged missing vehicles were rejected because the vehicles did not have chassis numbers. Consequently, the Senate Committee sustained the query of the Auditor- General, insisting that the Ministry of Environment must account for the missing vehicles.
