Accountant-General, FCTA, FIRS, others fail to submit audited accounts to Senate

Some key federal government departments and agencies have failed to submit their audited accounts to the Senate, an official said.

The agencies involved include the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Federal Capital Territory Administration.

The chairman of the Senate Public Account Committee, Matthew Urhoghide, made this known on Tuesday. He said some of the agencies failed to meet the submission deadline given by the committee.

He also said some anti-corruption agencies do not have audited accounts.

Although he did not mention the names of the agencies, the lawmakers said they have existed for over 20 years.

“A lot of the agencies that we have written to, to intimate us with the status of what their collections have been and they have spent – many of them over time have refused, we have been calling them they have refused.

“I want to tell you that even some organisations that have existed for 20 years do not have audited accounts, even the ones that are fighting corruption, their accounts are not audited,” he said.

He, therefore, announced a notice to all defaulting agencies to make their submissions within seven days.

“That is, 20th- 27th November 2019 on their responses to the issues raised by the Committee in its various correspondences regarding their income and expenditure operations from 2017 to 2019.”

Other defaulting MDAs, according to the lawmaker, include Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, the Niger Delta Development Commission, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, Nigerian Investment Promotion Council, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Nigeria Football Federation and Federal Road’s Maintenance Agency.

Others are National Space Research and Development Agency; Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute; Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency; Petroleum Equalization Fund (Management) Board; Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs; Presidential Amnesty Programme and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company.

Also announced are Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Nigeria Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Industrial Training Fund, Nigerian Railway Corporation, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Central Bank of Nigeria and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.