…..remits N197.7bn Operating surplus /Spectrum fees to Federation Account
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has described a news report by an online publication with a headline “NCC Incurs a Deficit of N17bn, Spending N35.2bn on Personnel, Consultancy Fees” insinuating that it recorded a loss of N17bn in 2021 financial year as totally false and demonstrated lack of understanding of financial reports by the news medium.
In a statement issued by the Commission’s Director, Public Affairs Department, Mr. Reuben Muoka on Tuesday, the Commission expressed its concern about the inability of the online publication to accurately interpret the contents of its 2021 Annual Reports which, it noted, had been made public.
The Director stated that as a result, the publication gave a wrong impression that the Commission incurred a N17bn deficit because of expenditures on personnel and consultancy fees. This is far from the truth.
According to him, though the Statement of the Financial Performance of the Commission for the period ended December 2021, clearly indicates that the sum of N17.3bn was a “Surplus/(Deficit) retained for the period)”, this does not imply that the Commission incurred a cash deficit as the expenditure in its financials were both in cash and accruals applicable to the year.
He expatiated: “If the publication had inquired of the constituents of our expenditure, it would have learnt that the expenditures for the year 2021 included accruals for items undergoing procurement at the end of the year, like the State Accelerated Broadband Initiative, SABI, being implemented by the Commission, which was standing in the sum of about N24bn in the financial report.
“The Commission also remitted an Operating Surplus/Spectrum Fees of estimated N197.7bn to the Federal Government, under the same Financial Performance Reporting period, and had a bank balance of about N46.97bn, erasing any doubt that there was any deficit spending”, the Director added.
While disclaiming the wrong impression created by the online publication’s headline and subsequent misinterpretation of the commission’s financial report in the publication may have had in the minds of the public, and stakeholders, Muoka reiterated the NCC’s commitment to effective and transparent processes in all its regulatory, management and financial activities.
