The recent workshop for the 36 state commissioners for finance organised by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) in London, has questioned the sincerity of the President Bola Tinubu’s government in the ongoing plan to cut the cost of governance.
The workshop, themed: ‘Public Financial Management and IPSAS Workshop for State Commissioners of Finance and Officials of OAGF,’ was held at the Hilton Kensington in London from March 4–9, 2024.
According to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), commissioners are entitled to $600 estacode for each night spent on a foreign trip.
If the 36 commissioners of finance were present at the event for at least five days, it means a total of $108,000, equivalent to N162,000,000 (at the rate of N1,500 per dollar), was spent on estacode. This did not include the outrageous cost of flights; other expenses for the commissioners and estacodes for officials of the OAGF and others.
The Director of Press at the Accountant-General’s office, Bawa Mokwa, who confirmed the workshop, clarified that the OAGF members attending the meeting are sub-committees of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), with the implementation committee comprising the commissioners of finance of the 36 states.
Mokwa mentioned that the choice of the UK as the venue for the event is due to the residency of the facilitators in the country, who ensures the implementation of the workshop’s objectives meticulously.
What this means invariably is that an entire country was put in aircraft to meet the facilitators when indeed Nigeria could have paid for them to come to the country.
The decision to hold the conference in the UK clearly contradicts the claim by this present administration that it targets to cut the cost of governance.
In a move to minimise government expenses in the face of a persistent economic crisis, President Tinubu in January reduced the official delegation for local and foreign trips by 60 per cent. He had also approved the implementation of the Oronsaye report, which is aimed at reducing government spending by merging and scrapping some ministries, departments, and agencies.
However, the London jamboree has questioned the sincerity of the government in its claim that it wants to cut costs.
