…As Public Accounts Committee issues final warning over failure to account for public finances
By Paul Effiong, Abuja
The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee, PAC, has summoned the Accountant-General of the Federation, AGF, Shamseldeen Babatunde Ogunjimi, over his alleged unresponsive conduct as the nation’s chief accounting officer.
The Chairman of the panel, the Honourable Bamidele Salam, issued the summons yesterday in Abuja, stressing that this serves as a final invitation directing the AGF to appear in person before the committee on Monday next week.
The other affected Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, MDAs, are the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, the Federal Cooperative College, Ibadan, the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, CRIN, the Federal Ministry of Education, the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, and the Federal Ministry of Police Affairs.
The committee has directed the accounting officers of the agencies, and the permanent secretaries in the case of the ministries, to appear before it without fail on Monday, July 13.
Speaking during the hearing, the Chairman, alongside members of his committee, lamented that despite several pieces of correspondence sent to the Office of the Accountant-General in recent months, the AGF has consistently failed to appear before lawmakers or respond to requests for vital documents.
Hon. Salam stated: “The Public Accounts Committee is equally worried that the Accountant-General is not showing any diligence in the rendering of accounts of his office and the preparation of the country’s consolidated financial statements, thus setting a bad example for other government agencies.
The committee described the Accountant-General’s disposition as disappointing, stressing that his office is expected to maintain a cooperative working relationship with the National Assembly. This is particularly crucial for the Public Accounts Committee, which is constitutionally empowered to oversee public financial management and ensure accountability in the use of public funds.
”The Office of the Accountant-General occupies a strategic position in Nigeria’s public financial management system,” Hon. Salam continued. As a critical institution entrusted with the management of public finances, it is expected to work closely with the committee in the discharge of its oversight responsibilities. Unfortunately, the current Accountant-General has not demonstrated the level of cooperation expected of that office.”
The panel reaffirmed the committee’s resolve to ensure strict compliance with legislative oversight, emphasising that no public officer or institution is above accounting to Nigerians through their elected representatives.
In a related development, the committee also issued final invitations to the six aforementioned MDAs whose accounting officers have repeatedly failed to honour previous invitations.
