MDAs bled the country over ₦6.54 trillion in less than half a decade.
- The Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAuGF) revealed how ₦6.54 trillion was unaccounted for by MDAs in four years;
- And of the above sum, 88.5% came from unauthorised deductions from the Federation Account;
- Auditor General’s inability to ensure submission of audited reports by MDAs remains a challenge;
- The government should reward MDAs based on full compliance with the criteria provided by the Auditor General in its report as the best performing MDA.
The Federal Audit Challenge
Èze Onyekpere Esq, Lead Director of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) said the various Ministries, Agencies and Departments (MDAs) in Nigeria cost the country a whooping ₦6.54 Trillion in four years.
In his opening remarks, Barr Onyekpere further stressed on why this money was important to the economy, considering the budget situation in the country. Save misappropriation, the money would have aided the country in its budget deficits. This took place last week Friday at a programme aimed at improving the effectiveness of the federal audit process.
The meeting thus has the aim to contribute in supporting the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation, the Public Account Committees of the National Assembly and the Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies to improve audit practice in Nigeria.
How the MDAs Fared from 2014 to 2017
Fidelis Onyejegbu, the Program Officer, Public Finance Management, giving a run down on how the ministry fare identified the issues as stated in the annual audit reports of the Auditor General from 2014 to 2017. In his presentation, he identified the issues related to the Federation Account as the top issue accounting for 88.5% of the total amount.
The Federation Account issues borders round unauthorized deductions by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
Other issues that led to the misappropriations of funds by the MDAs include failure in revenue generation and remittances by MDAs, irregularities in payment and expenditure, irregularities in contract award, execution and payment, store items not taken on store charge and unretired loans and advances.
The Challenges Faced by the OAuGF
The Office of the Auditor General of the Federation (OAuGF) faces many problems concerning its operations. Topmost amongst them is the inability of the Auditor General to ensure MDA’s hand in their audited reports. This has resulted in the unpublished audit reports of various MDAs over the years. One hundred and forty-eight MDAs defaulted in submitting their audited reports in 2014. This trend continued three years on. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, 215, 160 and 265 MDAs defaulted in delivering their evaluated reports.
Also, most MDAs could not give full information on the state of their accounts in their audited reports. And sometimes, parastatal(s) failed to present receipts for auditing, hindering transparency to expenditure on these accounts.
Role of the Public Account Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly
Mr Joseph Oko, a staff member with the PAC (Senate), gave clarity on the limitations of the PAC. According to him, the power lies in the executive. Typically, the process involves the Auditor General presenting his report and queries to the PAC; they in turn call the MDAs to respond to such queries. He said in various instances, the PAC has ordered MDAs to refund the monies back to the account of the Federal Government; and to provide evidence of the same with due compliance.
The Way Forward
Government should grant the OAuGF financial autonomy. This will address the issue of underfunding, further enhancing its operations. This should come in the form of statutory allocation from the Federation Account.
Upon review, the Auditor-General should submit them to the Public Account Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly. Thereafter, MDAs would be called on to answer/defend queries prior to publication.
The OAuGF should embrace forensic and investigative audit reporting. This will empower the Auditor General to present a tenable report in court. Further, the government should assign prosecution power to the Auditor General based on the audit report.
Again, the OAuGF should digitise its auditing process. In this regard, capacity building for staff becomes imperative to meet the demands of digitalisation.
In awarding the best performing MDA, this should go to the MDA that comply with the criteria stipulated by the Auditor General in the auditing process. Also important is commending parastatals with absolute transparency accountability and fiscal value.