Aso Savings failed to remit government’s N9.8b, ICPC alleges

Aso Savings and Loans Plc failed to remit N9.8 billion realised by the Ad-hoc Committee on the Sale of Federal Government Houses between 2010 and 2014 from the sale of government’s property to the federal treasury.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) disclosed that the financial institution rather used the money deposited with it.

In a statement issued yesterday in Abuja by ICPC’s spokesperson, Rasheedat Okoduwa, the commission said it received a petition on the work of the committee and commenced investigation and discovered that N9.8 billion was not remitted to government’s coffers.

The Federal Government had set up the Ad-hoc Committee on the Sale of Federal Government Houses in 2015 to sell some of its property in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

“Several officials were invited including the current Managing Director of Aso Savings and Loans and investigation revealed that the bank was experiencing paucity of funds.”

“As a result, it is willing to swap some of its property in Abuja and Lagos in exchange for the unremitted funds,” she stated. Okoduwa noted that the commission is committed to recovering the full value of the unremitted amount by taking the property offered in lieu for government, subject to satisfactory valuation by the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing.

She added that upon conclusion of investigations, anyone found in breach of the law would be prosecuted accordingly.She further disclosed that investigation of the committee’s work also found that some persons who were allocated government property made only part payments.

This fact led ICPC to recover N20.6 million from the indicted persons in bank drafts, which it handed over to Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee between December 2017 and May this year.