The exposure of alleged massive corruption by the handlers of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) shocked many Nigerians. But the NDDC is just one out of over 900 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in Nigeria and some say that if other MDAs were probed, the level of rot in them would be mouth-gaping.
At the moment, no one knows how deep resource plundering goes in MDAs. But several audit reports by the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (OAuGF) have indicted many government organisations for infractions, which include financial irregularities, ignoring due process, over-invoicing or contracts’ prices inflation, and non-remittance of revenues running into billions of naira to the treasury.
The 2016 audit report, detailed among other violations, non-remittance of tax deductions and doubtful cash balance involving over 40 agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the presidency, and the National assembly. In the 2017 audit report, mismanagement of public funds was spotted by the OAuGF. Reports from several years are not different.
It has been observed that the recurrence of poor management, financial corruption and audit violations in audit reports, suggests that handlers of many MDAs do not intend to give account of their activities.
A system where corrupt acts are not punished
The OAuGf is an institution set up by the law under Section 85 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria to audit income and expenditure accounts of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Although it is not empowered to audit the financial statement of parastatal organisations, it can undertake periodic checks in such state-owned entities.
The Financial Regulation 3210(v) provides that chief executive officers of government corporations, companies and commission must tender both audited accounts and management reports to the auditor-general of the federation not later than May 31, of the following fiscal year.
The Auditor-General for the Federation (AuGF) is then expected to submit a report to the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly.
As important as the roles of the OAuGf sound, it is not given much regards by many of the MDAs it was established to audit. While some do not submit their books, others do not respond to requests demanding explanations for irregularities found in their accounts. This has resulted to the National Assembly receiving audit reports behind schedule and the AuGF constantly lamenting poor compliance by MDAs with financial regulations.
In February 2020, the Chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts at the House of Representatives, Wole Oke, revealed an increasing trend of unwillingness by public institutions to present their records for perusal. In 2016, 323 MDAs failed to submit their audited reports to the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation; 215 did not submit in 2015; 148 in 2014; 109 in 2013; 85 in 2012; and 76 in 2011.
The AuGF said that “as at April 2018, only 109 agencies have submitted beyond 2013; 76 agencies last submitted for the 2010 financial year; while 65 agencies have never submitted any account since inception.”
Both 2016 and 2017 audit reports were presented to the National Assembly after two years delay. Audit reports for 2018 and 2019 have not been presented to Lawmakers.
The National Assembly, however, has a history of not doing anything about submitted reports. Hon. Oke said that “between 2010 and 2015, the Auditor-General’s reports for these years were lying cold at the NASS without any action.”
The Ninth Assembly, angry that more MDAs do not have audited reports, issued threats. While the House of Representatives threatened to ‘name and shame’ defaulters, the Senate said it would recommend the sack of heads of agencies that defaults. In 2018, the Upper Legislative House had threatened to not pass the budget of defaulting agencies. Eventually, nothing happened. The defaulting MDAs continued getting funds.
But the AuGF wants more hard-hitting sanctions, including withholding financial releases of agencies and the emoluments of heads of the defaulting agencies and passing the Audit Bill to law.
Experts say an Audit Law will boost the operational efficiency and scope of the Office of the Auditor-General.
“Beyond the routine annual audit reports that the office currently presents to the National Assembly (NASS), it will also be evaluating the effectiveness of government plans, policies and programmes,” John Mutu, Parliamentary Adviser with Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn said. “It will also evaluate how efficiently Ministeries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are utilising public funds.”
The Audit Bill was passed by the House of Representatives in 2016 and the Senate in 2018. The harmonised version of the bill was sent to President Buhari in January 2019. The President did not assent to the bill. Sponsors of the bill would have to re-present it to the 9th Assembly.
Political observers say that the political friction between the Saraki-led eight Assembly and President Buhari’s administration, could be responsible for the bill being ignored by the Presidency and that failure to give assent to the bill was a waste of resources.
Not many will argue that most Nigerian politicians are corrupt. But with increasing financial recklessness by MDAs as revealed by several audit reports, it is clear that if the government wants to ensure that scarce resources are no longer wasted and that its policies and programmes are effectively implemented, it needs to end corruption in public institutions and not reward it.
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