COVID-19 delayed rendition of audited accounts to Auditor General, VCs tell Reps

Some of the Vice-Chancellors of the Nation’s Federal Universities, on Tuesday, appeared before the House of Representatives on Public Accounts Committee, PAC, and blamed their inabilities to meet up with the rendition of their 2018-2019 Financial Audited Accounts to the office of the Auditor General of the Federation due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.

The Universities which appeared before the Committee being Chaired by Hon Busayo Wole Oke (Osun–PDP ) included Federal University of Lafia, Nasarawa State, Federal University of Technology, Minna, FUT, Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effunun Delta State and Modibbo Adams University of Technology, Yola, Adamawa State.

The Committee currently conducting administrative Investigations on the audit queries raised against the Ministries Departments and Agencies MDAs of the Federal Government had requested the Agencies to submit the following information/ documents for examinations:

*Approved Budget ( both appropriation and Internally Generated Revenue, IGR for 2018-2019)
*Audited Account and Management Account (2018-2019)
*Budget Performance Report (2018-2019)
* Evidence of remittance of Audited Accounts to the Auditor General of the Federation

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However, during the appearances of the Heads of the Instructions before the Committee, they blamed the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic in the country which delayed the processes and some cases the inabilities of their Governing Boards to meet and approved the available reports

They begged for more time to tidy up their records with their External Auditors for the rendition which the Committee accepted but summoned the External Auditor of the Federal University of Lafia Nasarawa State over some infractions noticed in the 2018 Audited Account of the Institution and also directed that a sub- Committee should visit the Institution for on the spot assessment of most of the projects claimed to have been executed.

The Committee also frowned at the utilization of the Internally Generated Revenues IGRs of some of the Instructions which it said violated financial regulations policy of the Federal Government as corroborated by the office of the Auditor General of the Federation.

The Chairman of the Committee, Hon Busayo Wole Oke, counselled the Vice-Chancellors on the need to follow the provisions establishing the Universities to guide against running afoul of the law as ignorance would not be accepted as the defence.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE