Business

Reps to probe alleged fraud in IPPIS

Published

2 years ago

December 2, 2020

House of Representatives has resolved to probe alleged fraud in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System of the Federal Government.

The irregularities have reportedly led to non-payment of salaries and allowances of some civil servants.

The payment system was introduced by the Federal Government in 2017.

The decision to investigate the IPPIS was made on Tuesday by House Committee on Public Accounts.

This is coming after its engagement with various tertiary institutions and government agencies on their financial audit reports for 2018 and 2019.

The committee said it had observed leakages and sharp practices in the course of grilling those who appeared before it, especially the J. S. Tarkar University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State.

Chairman of the committee, Wole Oke, called for the probe after the lawmakers grilled the Rector, Federal Polytechnic Auchi, Edo State, Dr Zubair Mustapha.

Mustapha had told the committee that salary arrears had accumulated due to anomalies in the IPPIS, saying, “The backlog of salaries is for the people who were not captured by IPPIS.”

Oke said, “That is why we must look into the IPPIS. We were told here that the salaries of personnel of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi (Benue State), went into accounts of staff of Jigawa State.

“IPPIS must be investigated to detect some of the irregularities observed in the system. We have observed some serious irregularities in the system.”

The committee resolved to write the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; and the Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, to explain the anomalies in the federal staff payment system.

Also, the committee summoned the external auditors of the accounts of Auchi Polytechnic over discrepancies in the audited reports of the institution for 2018 and 2019.

Business

Breaking: CBN jacks up interest rate to 15.5%

Published

7 hours ago

September 27, 2022

Trends Admin

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the monetary policy rate (MPR), which measures interest rate, from 14 per cent to 15.5 per cent to tame rising inflation.

The interest rate was raised from 13 per cent to 14 per cent in July this year.

The monetary policy rate is the baseline interest rate in an economy, every other interest rate used within an economy is built on.

Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, addressing journalists on Tuesday after the committee’s meeting in Abuja, said 10 members of the committee voted for the rate hike.

In August, Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to a nearly two-decade high at 20.52 per cent.

Auto

Lamborghini pushes out final Aventador, Ultimae, ends V12 supercar

Published

14 hours ago

September 27, 2022

Trends Admin

Supercar manufacturer, Lamborghini, has announced the production of the last Aventador. You can call it Avantador’s last dance. The final Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae was rolled off the production line in Sant’Agata, Italy, and kissing goodbye to V12-powered supercar that shaped an era. The Lamborghini V12 will be hybridised going forward.

This Ultimae Roadster marks the 11,465th Aventador to reach customers worldwide. First launched in 2011, the Aventador is not exactly modern, but when it debuted, it was described by CEO Stephan Winkelmann as “a jump of two generations in terms of design and technology,” with “performance that is simply overwhelming.”

A plug-in hybrid replacement is expected to be revealed later this year, having been spied testing.

Lamborghini made sure the final model was the most powerful, with the 6.5-litre unit producing 10bhp more than in the previous range-topping Aventador, the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, sending 769bhp (780PS, hence the name) to both axles. The Aventador-based Essenza SCV12 produces 819bhp but is limited to track use.

The Ultimae’s 531lb ft torque peak matches the SVJ’s, with which it shares its power- to-weight ratio. But with a 0-62mph time of just 2.8sec and a top speed of 221mph, the Ultimae is the fastest road-going Aventador.

The 350 coupés and 250 roadsters – each sold with a numbered plaque – were offered in a range of unique colour schemes, including a new grey-on-grey option with contrasting red trim elements, while the roadster could be specified with an exposed carbonfibre roof panel. It was also subtly marked out from other Aventadors by way of a unique styling package that “took the best components” of the S and SVJ.

The Aventador’s plug-in hybrid replacement will serve as a bridge to pure-electric Lamborghini models in the future.

This electrified future will see the Hurácan and Lamborghini Urus also go down the same route, and an all-electric 2+2 introduced in the second half of the decade.

Importantly, however, while its replacement will use an electrified drivetrain, it will take the bulk of its power from a large-capacity V12, in line with company boss Stephan Winkelmann’s commitment to the emotional value of its supercars.

He told Autocar last year that there is “a lot of emotion attached” to the 12-cylinder engine, which he is particularly aware of, having been involved in the launch of the Aventador in his first stint as the boss of Lamborghini in 2011.

Business

How to use your pensions for mortgage

Published

2 days ago

September 26, 2022

Trends Admin

The National Pension Commission recently approved the guidelines to access Retirement Savings Account balance for payment of equity contribution for residential mortgage by RSA holders.

The approval was in line with Section 89 (2) of the Pension Reform Act 2014, which allows RSA holders to use a portion of their RSA balance towards payment of equity for residential mortgage.

PenCom however specified conditions to access the funds. A major condition is that the applicant must be in active employment, either as a salaried employee or as a self-employed person.

It stated that application for equity contribution for residential mortgage must be in person and not by proxy.

How to apply

Anybody who is interested can approach his PFA to get explanation on the process. The PFA will print the statement of account and determine the 25 per cent.

Speaking with our correspondent, the Spokesperson, PenCom, Abdulqadir Dahiru, said, “Then when you have that, you can now go back to your mortgage lender, get a letter of offer of your property, go through their own due diligence to agree for them to finance because the pension is only giving you 25 per cent; 75 per cent will still be financed by somebody.

Maximum amount allowed

PenCom stated that the maximum amount to be withdrawn is 25 per cent of the total mandatory RSA balance as of the date of application, irrespective of the value of equity contribution required by the mortgage lender.

Where 25 per cent of a contributor’s RSA balance is not sufficient for payment as equity contribution, the RSA holders may utilise the contingency portion of their voluntary contributions (if any).

Consent form

If a person had accessed part of the funds before either for leaving paid employment before retirement age, he will still get lump sum at retirement. He can still get part of the funds for mortgage after meeting specific conditions stated in the guidelines, but he must sign a consent form to get it.

Aisha Dahir-Umar, DG National Pension Commission

Dahiru said, “If you have taken 25 per cent for temporary loss of job and then you get employment again, and you continue contributing and you come to collect for a mortgage, you will sign a consent to say that I’m fully aware that this money I want to withdraw to finance a house will affect the amount I may likely take when I retire, I understand and whatever.

“So, basically you are indemnifying the PFA that you understand so that at the point of retirement, if your benefit is lower compared to your colleagues you will not complain.”

Mortgage lender

To qualify as a mortgage lender for the purpose, the company must be licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, comply with the Contributory Pension Scheme and have valid Pension Clearance Certificate, according to PenCom’s guidelines.

Eligibility

According to PenCom, a worker must have an offer letter for the property duly signed by the property owner and verified by the mortgage lender. The RSA of the applicant must have both employer and employee’s mandatory contributions for a cumulative minimum period of 60 months (five years). A contributor under the Micro Pension Plan is also eligible, provided he/she has made contributions for at least 60 months (five years) prior to the date of his/her application.

Age limit

RSA holders that have less than three years to retirement are not eligible.

Data recapturing

RSA holders, if registered before 1 July 2019, must have their records updated through the RSA data recapture exercise.

Dahiru said, “But it’s very important that RSA holders have done their recapture. When you have not done your data recapturing, we can’t process it.”

Insufficient 25 per cent contribution

The PenCom spokesperson said, “Where the 25 per cent the mortgage lender is asking for is equal to the 25 per cent of your RSA, definitely we will process. But if what mortgage lender is asking for is higher than what you can get from your PFA, you will have to look for the difference and pay and show evidence to your PFA.

“For instance, if your mortgage lender is looking for N2.5m and the mortgage is N10m, and the mortgage lender says bring 25 per cent as equity contribution, and your own 25 per cent in your RSA is only N1.5m, you will have to look for that difference of N1m and pay; then come with it with your offer letter for the property and the evidence that I have paid, then your PFA will give you the balance of N1.5m which is your 25 per cent.”

Punch