Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Engr. Olufunso Adebiyi, risk removal from office, over failure to account for the sum of N34,652,621.60, Office of the Auditor-General has said.
The indictment of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women Affairs is contained in the 2019 annual report of the Office of the Auditor-General.
The amount was a cumulative of five payments, made to officials of the ministry, for international travels without evidence of approval.
Tribune Online gathered that, the money was paid to officials of the ministry, as Estacodes and passage allowance, to enable them to attend seminars and workshops in different countries.
The payment according to the Auditor General Annual Report for 2019, was in flagrant disregard for circulars from the office of the head of the service in January 2015 and July 2016.
The circulars clearly required that “all international travels must be approved by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF) before they can
be embarked upon,” the office of the auditor general stated in the report.
The 2019 annual report of the office of the auditor general further said that the anomalies exposed the “weakness in the internal control system at the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Abuja.”
It noted that, such anomaly could lead to “diversion of public funds for private use” and “loss of public funds.”
The auditor general’s report noted the unsatisfactory response of the management of the ministry of women affairs which stated that: “The seminars and workshops attended by officers of the Ministry were global events, meant for International/Worldwide development of the vulnerable in the Society and participants were drawn from various countries all over the world including Nigeria.
According to the ministry, “All Foreign trips undertaken by officers of the Ministry are done on the authority and approval of the assigned government authorities in accordance with extant circulars.
“Some payments are made on a composite voucher wherein the officers who are beneficiaries are not on the GIFMIS platform hence the payment vouchers were prepared in the names of the beneficiaries but payments made to Officers in the Ministry that are registered on the GIFMIS payment platform for onward transfer/disbursement to the respective beneficiaries,” the ministry argued.
Defense by the ministry of women affairs management attracted the following recommendations by the auditor general’s office which dangled possible penalties.
It said, where the chief accounting officer failed to comply to the civil service rule that guides financial transactions, sanctions would be meted out to the accounting officer.
The office of the auditor general directed the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women Affairs, to: furnish reasons why payments for international travels were made without approval by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
“Account for the sum of 34,652,621.60 (Thirty-four million, six hundred and fifty-two thousand, six hundred and twenty-one naira, sixty kobo).
It also demanded the permanent Secretary to; “recover the amount from the officers and remit same to Treasury, forwarding evidence of remittance to the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly.”
The report of the office of the auditor general said failing to do these, it will “apply sanctions relating to irregular payments and poor cash management specified in paragraphs 3106 and 3115 of the Financial Regulations respectively.
Tribune Online further checks on the implication of such failure by the permanent Secretary, showed that paragraph 3106 of the Financial Regulations 2009, states that: “A public officer who makes an irregular payment from public funds, shall be given 21 days notice to offer an explanation.
“Where no satisfactory explanation is given, the amount involved shall be recovered from the officer and such officer shall be removed from the schedule,” the latest report of the auditor general stated.
While 3115 stated that “An Accounting Officer who is queried for his failure to manage or spend public funds effectively or who spends public money without due regard to economy contrary to and fails to reply to the query, shall be removed from the schedule and be disciplined in accordance with the Public Service Rules.
Nigerian Tribune can report that the national assembly approved the sum of N49,999,200:00 Forty-Nine Million, Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine Thousand and Two Hundred Naira only, for international travel for the year 2019, from which the alleged amount was drawn without approval.
There was no reply to Tribune Online’s inquiry to the Ministry, through the Director of Press, and Public Relations, Mr Olujimi Oyetomi, via text message as at press time.
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