The Joint House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts and Public Assets has invited the Minister of Finance, Mr Olawale Edun, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Olayemi Cardoso, to appear before it on Monday over allegations bothering on non-compliance with the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007.
The duo are also expected to respond to the 2021 audit queries relating to internal control weaknesses identified by the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation (oAuGF).
In a letter jointly signed by the Chairmen of the House Committee on Public Accounts, Rep. Bamidele Salam, and the Committee on Public Assets, Rep. Ademorin Kuye, the lawmakers requested the Finance Minister and the CBN Governor to provide details on the remittance of operating surplus to the Federation Account by the apex bank in line with the provisions of relevant laws and regulations.
The Fiscal Responsibility Commission and the Auditor General for the Federation had, in reports submitted to the joint committees, accused several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including the CBN, of failing to remit or under-remitting their operating surpluses as required by extant financial laws and regulations over the last six years.
According to the Public Accounts Committee Chairman, “these violations have negatively impacted the liquidity of the federal government and constitute a hindrance to effective implementation of the budgets passed by parliament.”
The committees stated that both the Finance Ministry and the apex bank had been given ample opportunity to reconcile their accounts and present their positions in order to determine the degree of financial liabilities involved, hence the need for a final hearing to resolve the issues.
The committee is equally reviewing a report in the Auditor General for the Federation’s statutory report which suggests that a number of public assets, which had been fully paid for, have not been completed or put into use for many years.
“Some of these projects in Dutse, Abeokuta and other locations were awarded between 2011 and 2016 but yet to be completed according to audit reports.”
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