Suspended NITDA DG Misappropriated N630m

The suspended director general, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Peter Jack has allegedly spent N630million in two months “without due process”, an audit committee has said.

Jack was suspended by the federal government two weeks ago over “misconduct”.

The audit committee set up to investigate him wrote in a report that the NITDA boss “gave approval for the disbursement of N630 million within two months without due process under questionable and suspicious circumstances.”

The committee also said the embattled former chief executive was found wanting in handling the “finances and procurement processes of the agency, including irregularities in staff recruitment.”

The committee “observed that several approvals for payment totalling N301.6 million were made through the agency’s staff private accounts under the guise of cash advance disbursements.”

The auditors said the payments, ranging between N1.1 million and N49.7 million, were disbursed to 18 staff betweenNovember 12 and December 31, last year among others.

Within the same months of November and December, last year, Mr. Jack allegedly disbursed N153 million to 26 staff of the agency “as claims for embarking on official trips without evidence of embarking on the journey.”

The former chief executive allegedly paid himself over N52 million for spurious official trips to India, United States, Portugal and Canada within two months.

Mr Jack could not be reached has his mobile line appeared to have been switched off.