MDAs wreck N3.8trillion service wide vote – SenateThe upper legislative chamber, the Senate has revealed how government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), mismanaged Service Wide Votes (SWV) worth N3.8 trillion between 2017 and 2021.

This was unraveled following a report by the Senate Committee on Public Accounts.

According to the report, the Committee said some agencies did not make formal request for the money sent to them by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

It was also uncovered that hundreds of billions of naira were purportedly used to cover salary deficits, despite the fact that such agencies had already collected appropriations for employee emoluments via the IPPIS network.

The Senate also determined that MDAs were failing to disclose Service Wide Votes transaction documentation such as payment vouchers and vote books.

The Senate committee committee had earlier invited 207 government agencies to appear before it for cross examination, but only 119 replied, with the remaining 85 declining.

Among the agencies that failed to appear before the Committee for investigation were State House, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, , Nigeria Defence Academy, Federal Ministry of Health, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria.

The Committee’s report reads: “This is the first time a search light is beamed on the SWV and it operations.

“There was a steady rise in the disbursements from the Service Wide Vote, from §887,008,900,486.00 in 2017 to over N1.93 trillion in 2021. Some of the MDAs did not make formal requests for the money that was sent to them by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

“Even where the approval of Mr. President was sought and obtained, some MDAs used the resources for unrelated expenditure purpose.

“Sometimes approvals were wrongly obtained from sources other than Mr. President, such as these from the Minister of Finance. Some MDAs collected the fund for projects that were already budgeted for in the Appropriation Acts over the years.

“Hundreds of Billions of Naira were claimed to have been used for the purposes of paying salary shortfalls whereas such Agencies had already collected appropriation for Personnel Emolument and were on the IPPIS platform”.

The committee therefore recommended “That the SWV supplementary releases be limited to recurrent emergencies or shortfalls genuinely desired with satisfactory proof.

”That where capital supplementation must be made from the SWV, only the personal authorization of Mr. President as the approving authority shall suffice

“That MDAs must strictly ensure that funds received from SWV are applied to the specific purpose of request and release.

“Going forward, the Auditor-General for the Federation should be given full access by the OAGF and other MDAs to audit Service Wide Vote expenditures annually and report to the National Assembly, either as part of the annual report or as a special report.”

“That the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and the Cash Management Department, Federal Ministry of Finance, should rejig its record keeping procedures to enhance efficient operations of the Federal Treasury House/FMF.

“That the Senate carries out in-depth legislative investigation into the operations of IPPIS to stem the rising cases of irregularities in the system.

“The Senate Public Accounts Committee should henceforth make it a point of duty to undertake in depth scrutiny of the disbursements from the Service Wide Vote between 1° January and 31 December 2022, as part of the overall scrutiny of the annual budget of the Federal Government.

“That the Executive should be advised to use supplementary budget approach to meet emergencies or shortfalls rather than the current Service Wide Vote mechanism which amounts to affront/erosion of the approval powers of the National Assembly. Prayer.

“This is the very first time the financial activities of the Federal Government relating to disbursement from the Service Wide Votes has been brought under scrutiny, (another credit to the Senate) and you have seen the plethora of abuses and irregularities observed. Our inquiry has clearly brought to the fore the urgent need for in depth scrutiny of this vote, henceforth.

“Consequently, the Committee prays the Senate to approve and adopt the above recommendations and communicate same to the Executive for implementation, towards achieving improved effectiveness, efficiency and economy in the use and management of public funds.”

Based on the submissions of the Committee headed by the Chairman, Senator Matthew Urhoghide, representing Edo South Senatorial district, the Senate resolved that the executive branch of government should employ the supplementary budget strategy to handle shortages rather than the current Service Wide Vote mechanism, which amounts to an insult of the democratic process and approving powers of the Senate.

The Senate also requested an in-depth probe of IPPIS operations in order to address escalating instances of systemic irregularities.