Nigeria’s House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has expressed displeasure over the repeated failure of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi to honour its invitations and answer to audit queries, directing him to appear before it on Monday, July 13.
Chairman of the committee, Bamidele Salam, issued what it described as a final invitation accusing the Accountant-General of maintaining a non-responsive attitude towards its oversight activities.
Salam noted that despite several correspondences sent to the Office of the Accountant-General in recent months, Ogunjimi has consistently failed to appear before the committee or provide critical documents required for the discharge of its constitutional oversight responsibilities.
The committee described the Accountant-General’s conduct as unbecoming of the nation’s chief accountant and expressed concern over what it termed his lack of diligence in rendering the accounts of his office and preparing Nigeria’s consolidated financial statements.
Salam maintained that the Office of the Accountant-General occupies a strategic position in the country’s public financial management system and is expected to ensure a cooperative working relationship with the National Assembly, particularly the Public Accounts Committee.
The committee chairman insists the Accountant-General has not demonstrated the level of cooperation expected of the office, warning that no public official or institution is above accountability to the Nigerian people through their elected representatives.
The committee also issued final invitations to six Ministries, Departments and Agencies whose accounting officers have repeatedly failed to honour previous invitations.
The affected agencies are the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Federal Cooperative College, Ibadan, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Education, the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology and the Federal Ministry of Police Affairs.
The committee directed the accounting officers of the agencies, and the permanent secretaries of the affected ministries, to appear before it on Monday, July 13.
Salam warned that the committee would invoke all constitutional and parliamentary measures available to compel compliance from any public institution or official that fails to honour its invitations, reiterating its commitment to strengthening transparency, accountability and prudent management of public resources.
Editor: Anoyoyo Ogiagboviogie
