By Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The House of Representatives has revealed its plan to embark on full scale investigation into the activities of all government-owned agencies over breach of financial rules.
The investigative hearing was initiated by the House Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Hon. Wole Oke over allegations bordering on deliberate and reckless refusal by non-treasury funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to render accounts between 2014 to 2018 to the Auditor General for the Federation.
Oke explained that the investigation is aimed at deepening the culture of accountability and due process in the public sector.
In his response to the inquiry from the Committee’s letter with Ref. No: HR/PAC/SC05/9NASS/ACCT.G.1/011 dated 23rd December, 2019, the Auditor General of the Federation, Anthony Atine, in a letter dated 20th January, 2020, transmitted the list of 67 non-funded and partly funded agencies as detailed in the updated Schedule 21 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, for legislative scrutiny.
The government agencies under probe included: Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM).
Others are: Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), National Clearing and Forwarding Agencies, National Unity Line, Nigeria Airspace Management Services, Nigeria Shipper’s Council (NSC), Small and Medium Enterprise Development of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC), among others.
