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The Nigerian Senate has said that it is closing in on leaders of government agencies who have been indicted in the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation's audit reports, which are now being investigated by the Committee on Public Accounts.
The Senate voiced reservations about the reluctance of certain heads of government agencies to make themselves accessible to defend any financial wrongdoing, claiming that some of them hide behind the appearance of being part of the executive branch to avoid Senate scrutiny.
According to the Daily Post, Senator Mathew Urhogide, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, revealed this in Abuja, noting that some chief executives of government agencies who misappropriated funds allocated to their MDAs have failed to honor committee invitations because they lack a strong defense against allegations leveled against them.
While lamenting, he stated that the acts of those erroneous chief executives tended to hinder the Committee's use of its constitutional authority to scrutinize government agency financial transactions.
He promised that it would not be business as usual, emphasizing that anyone who defamed the executive branch of government would be recognized and shamed.
Citing pertinent portions of the Constitution, the legislator stated that the upper chamber has the choice of issuing a warrant of arrest or not coming for the 2023 budget defense on their own since they no longer have the moral right to do so.
Despite the uproar, Senator Uroghide stated that no warrants of arrest have been issued because only the 2015 report has been completed out of three years worth of reports being examined at the same time.
“However, I must warn you that it will not be business as usual for these agencies that fail to appear,” he warned.
No agency has an unethical right to come out and defend a budget allotment in the next year if they have not accounted for what they spent the previous year. It's a pity. Those who feel they are part of Executive Government should be aware that they are tarnishing the executive arm of government by failing to account for financial transactions; moreover, they have been accused by the Auditor-General for the Federation.
“What we are doing here is in accordance with the provisions of our Constitution, and we are always quick to remind you that Section 85, which if you read what we are supposed to do as far as the Office of the Auditor General is concerned, is that he brings the report to the Senate and, of course, to the House of Representatives for consideration,” says the auditor general.
