Reps blame AGF, CBN for discrepancies in remittances by MDAs
House of Representatives has blamed the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for discrepancies in the 2021 remittances by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government.
The House Committee on Finance which disclosed this during the resumed hearing on the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework at the National Assembly, said the position is borne out of the observed difference in figures between the representative of the AGF and the Energy Commission of Nigeria, among others, presented before the lawmakers.
Deputy Chairman of the committee, Rep Sa’idu Abdullahi, who chaired the event, blamed both agencies for encouraging gross misappropriation in MDAs.
The Finance Committee, while discharging the agencies present, directed them to reconcile all remittances with the Accountant General’s office, and reappear before the committee with documents relating to every transaction in 2021.
Earlier, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Development, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, while presenting the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), to the House of Representatives Committee on Finance projected budget deficit for 2023 is N11.30 trillion.
She added that inflation is expected to grow at an average rate of 17.16% in the year under review.
Chairman of the House committee on Finance, Mr James Faleke, stated that no agency would be allowed to play with the revenue of the country.
Faleke expressed disappointment with the office of the accountant general of the federation for failing to provide details of remittances by revenue generating agencies during the public hearing.
He also directed the (FRCN and the fiscal responsibility commission to reconcile their accounts and report back to the house next week.
MDAs that appeared before the committee included the FRCN, Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC), Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), among others.
