The Joint House of Representatives Committees on Public Account and Public Assets have invited the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun and Governor of Central Bank of Nigerian, Olayemi Cardoso to appear before it on Monday over allegations of non-compliance with the provisions of Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 as well as internal control weaknesses identified in the 2021 report by the Auditor General for the Federation.
A letter jointly signed by chairmen of both committees, Bamidele Salam and Ademorin Kuye, asked the Finance Minister and CBN Governor to provide details on remittance of operating surplus to the Federation Account by the apex bank in line with the provisions of relevant laws and regulations.
The letter explained that the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and the Auditor General of the Federation have submitted reports alleging that several Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government including the Central Bank of Nigeria have failed to remit and at other times under remitted their operating surpluses as required by extant financial laws and regulations in the last six years.
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According to the chairman of Public Accounts Committee, these violations have negatively impacted the liquidity of the federal government and constituted a hindrance to effective implementation of the budgets passed by parliament.
The committees revealed that both the Finance Ministry and the apex bank have been given enough time to reconcile their accounts and present their positions in order to determine the degree of financial liabilities involved, noting that the invitation is a final step at resolving the issues.
The Auditor General of the Federation statutory report which suggests that a number of public assets fully paid for by the federal government have not been completed and put into use for many years, will also be looked into by the committees.
(Editor: Okechukwu Eze)
