The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, PAC has warned the heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs of the Federal Government who have refused to appear before it over Non-Rendion of Audited Accounts to the Auditor General of the Federation for examination.
The committee maintained that the act from the ministries and agencies would no longer be tolerated.
The Chairman of the Committee, Hon Busayo Wole Oke stated this following the failure of the Chief Executive Officers, CEOs of Seven River Basin Development Authorities to appear before the Committee for examination on audit queries issued against their Agencies by the Auditor General of the Federation
Hon Oke who expressed dismay over the lukewarm attitudes of the heads of the defaulting Agencies toward rendering accounts of the public funds appropriated to them running into several billions of Naira by the National Assembly on yearly basis.
According to him, “Enough of this nonsense, as Lawmakers, we can not allow this to continue, if you are put in charge of department or an organization, you are expected to render an account at the end of every financial year for accountability sake.
“What are we telling Nigerians? queries are raised and those affected refused to appear before the parliarment for examination, does it mean that Auditor General of the Federation is telling lies against them?
“Our rulling on the refusal of the heads of the all MDAs is that we will give them just the last chance to cause appearance failure which the Committee will drag them before their employer who is the Mr President, President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Our Committee is not out to harras or intimate any Agency or individual, all what we after is nothing but the truth, all the heads of the MDAs that have been appearing before can attest to this, we are giving them and others another chance to retrace their steps and submit themselves for examination before otherwise.”
The Committee then summoned Seven Chief Executive Officers, CEOs, of the nation’s River Basin Development Authorities to appear before it next week on Non-Rendion of Audited Accounts to the Auditor General of the Federation for examination .
Those affected are: Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority, Sokoto State, Hadejia Jama’re River Basin Development Authority, Chad Basin Development Authority, Borno State, Upper Benue Basin Development Authority, Yola, Adamawa State, Lower Benue River Basin Development Authority, Markudi, Benue State, Cross River Basin Development Authority, Cross River State and Anambra-Imo River Basin Development Authority.
The Committee requested them the Agencies to submit the following information and documents for examination:
*Approved budget (both appropriation and Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, 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
The Committee vowed that the Parliarment would recover all misappropiated public funds as contained in the auditt queries.
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