President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday ordered Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) to publish a Daily Treasury Statement containing accrual into national treasury.
At the unveiling of Financial Transparency Policy/Open –Treasury Portal in Abuja, Buhari said “my administration pledged to Nigerians that we will work towards changing the way we do business. We promised that we will improve revenue collection as well as spending through better systems.
“As of today, we have recorded significant milestones including the rollout of the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) to over 800 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAS), which has enabled us to build a very rich repository of financial information about the affairs of the Federal Government.
“Within government, we know who is collecting what revenue and who is getting paid which money and for what purpose.
“This information is available online real-time, but only to a limited number of privileged government officials, this has to change and now does”.
Represented by the Minister of State for Niger Delta, Sen. Donald Alasoadura, the President noted that “the Transparency Policy approved by the Federal Executive Council requires the following: The Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) must publish a Daily Treasury Statement which will provide information about what came into the national purse and what went out every single day.
“I repeat every single day. Henceforth, Treasury is required to publish this information unfailingly. The AGF and all Accounting Officers must publish Daily Payments Reports. With these reports, the Treasury will publish payments of at least 10 million naira while all MDAS must publish payments above 5 million naira made out of all public funds under their purview.
“The information to be published must include the MDA responsible, the beneficiary, the purpose and amount of each payment Accounting Officers are responsible for providing answers to any questions from the public relating to transactions completed by entities under their charge”.
He noted that “all MDAS must publish Monthly Budget Performance Reports. These reports must include the performance of the budget by various dimensions including MDAs, functions and economic activities performed by all Federal Government Agencies.
“These reports must be ready within 7 days after the end of the month. The AGF must publish monthly Fiscal Accounts detailing fiscal performance of the Federation including receipts from all the collection agencies and payments out of the Federation Account.
“This must be done within 14 days after the end of the month. The AGF and all Accounting Officers of MDAs must publish Quarterly Financial Statements for the government as a whole and for individual MDAS respectively. These must be published within a month after the end of the quarter.
Buhari emphasized that “the AGF must publish Annual General Purpose Financial Statements all public Sector entities are required to publish statements for their individual entities. These statements must be prepared following International Public Sector Accounting standards and must be ready within a month after the end of the first quarter of the following year”.
He said “the above requirements might appear too rigorous but I am aware the systems that have been built to support the policy are robust enough. The Next Level of our reform efforts requires it. Nigerians need it and all Accounting Officers must comply.
“This policy has to be implemented in order to achieve the following: A Cementing government commitment to improving governance and supplementing the recently launched Whistle-blower Policy and equipping the general population with the tools they need to report financial wrongdoing.
“Furthermore, government has committed to full implementation of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 so that government-held data-sets can be availed and used by the media and the public at large” he stated.
The President explained that “this policy is in fulfillment of my promise to Nigerians in an effort to build public trust in Government. Facilitating the fight against corruption through partnership building It is crucial that more transparency IS not only encouraged but also enforced at all levels.
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“This policy is also aimed at enabling timely availability of financial information to the civil society organizations and the public at large by all MDAs of the Federal Government.
Through this initiative, the foundation for a strong partnership against corruption will be laid.
“Our resolve for more transparency must remain total. While publication of public financial management information will remain a key hallmark of this administration, the general public and the civil society are enjoined to take advantage of this policy and hold public officials to account.
“Fellow Nigerians, you recall that I recently signed the Open-Data-for-Africa Initiative aimed at increasing access to public finance information that take the anti-corruption fight further forward. I now wish to tell you that a new dawn has come”.
He said “given these initiatives, public officers should act in awareness of the reality that information about their fiduciary responsibilities and actions will be easily accessed by not only law enforcement agencies but also the general public.
For contractors and other service providers to government agencies, take note that any payment you receive from the public purse will be published. Ensure you collect public money for legitimate purposes for if not, it will not take long before it is known”.
In her opening remark, the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed said the policy was formulated in accordance with government stand to fight corruption and also give confidence to the general public to hold government accountable.
She stated that “we expect full implementation of the programme by all the MDAs latest by the end of three months”.
“Nigerians should not only use the information provided by the portal to discuss governance but also use it to fight corruption” Ahmed noted.
On his part, the Accountant General of the Federal, Ahmed Idris said “we are indeed inspired by your leadership in driving a prosperous Nigeria. We assure you, Mr President, that no stone will be left unturned in ensuring full implementation of the policy as directed”.
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