The Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN, otherwise known as Radio Nigeria has been indicted by the Auditor General of the Federation, AuGF report for its alleged failure to recover over N187 million advert debts.
The query of the Auditor General against the radio station has however been sustained by the Senate Committee on Public Accounts following the appearance of its Director-General Mansur Liman before the Senate panel and unresolved issues.
Senator Mathew Urhoghide, the chairman of the committee, (PDP Edo South), sustained the query issued to the corporation pending the time the advert schedule which occasioned the debt is made available to the Senate.
The query reads: “Financial records maintained at Ibadan zonal office (FRCN Ibadan) revealed huge unrecovered advert debts of ₦120,099,666.88 (One hundred and twenty million, ninety-nine thousand, six hundred and sixty-six naira, eighty-eight kobo) owed to the Corporation as at December 2016, as a result of services rendered on credit to some companies by the zonal office.
“This is contrary to the provisions of Financial Regulations 224 and 230 (2009) which stipulates that all services rendered by the government must be paid for immediately on completion of the service and where possible, payment may be made in advance; and where payment is outstanding, a system of follow-up by means of reminders and final demand should be made.
“Unrecovered advert debts of ₦67,842,011.50 (Sixty-seven million, eight hundred and forty-two thousand, eleven naira, fifty kobo) which were in respect of services provided on credit to some companies by the Lagos Operations of the Corporation were being owed to it as of December 2016; and majority of them have been outstanding for more than five years.
“Requests for the companies’ files and evidence of following due process before rendering the services as well as agreements between the Corporation and the purported debtors were not honored.
“Majority of these debts have been outstanding for more than five years.”
But the Director-General of FRCN while responding to the query claimed that the outstanding debts came as of bankruptcy of the companies which led to change of business name.
Liman added that when the FRCN approached the new companies to pay the debt, they declined on the ground that it was not part of liabilities inherited although N28million has been recovered so far from the debtors.
He said the services of a legal outfit has been engaged to recover the debt.
But when the chairman of the committee demanded advert schedule of the debtors, the Director-General failed to present it for the panel to see.
