FG spent N4.7trn in 8yrs without approval -Reps

THE House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, at the weekend, accused the Federal Government of spending about N4.7 trillion from 2004 to 2012 from the Service-wide Vote without the approval of the National Assembly, as stipulated in section 80 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

The Chairman of the Committee, Honourable Adeola Solomon Olamilekan, who stated this while briefing, also accused the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo of expending N250 million to feed former president of Liberia, Charles Taylor and his family, who were on an asylum in the country between 2005 and 2006.

Honourable Olamilekan, while speaking on the alleged abuse of the Service-wide Vote, maintain that, “most of the expenditures to which the Service-wide Vote releases were deployed were  routine in nature and did not qualify for emergency funding.”

According to him: “For instance, between 2004 and 2012, a total sum of  N1, 284,853,731.20 was spent on publicity and publication of various government programmes; between 2004 and 2005, the sum of N250 million was spent on the upkeep of the former Liberian president, Charles Taylor; another sum of N14,006,494.847.57 was also released from the Service-wide Vote for the payment of judgment debts against the Federal Government.

“The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Budget Office and the Ministry of Finance released to their various offices, a total sum of N2, 267,002,101 to a few auditors are audit fees and in 2011 alone, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation paid out the sum of N809,358,504 as audit fees to some external auditors carrying out audit of the Federal Government financial activities instead of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation”.

Speaking further, he maintained that, “the expenditure of N162 million from the 2011 Service-wide Vote releases tagged: “Closing Accounts” was incurred jointly by the Office of the Accountant-General and the Budget Office of the Federation,” adding, “an expenditure of N1,059,177,589.31 ($6,619,859.93 at the rate of $1=N160) in 2010 and 2011, was said to payment of outstanding tax on Nigeria House in New York.”

He added that: “Successive governments have, from 2004 to 2012, spent a whopping and mind-boggling sum of N4.17 trillion, as against N1.8 trillion naira approved by the National Assembly as Service-wide Vote component of the budgets of those years, translating to N2.27 trillion extra budgetary spending or 220% above the Service-wide Vote as approved in the budget for the period.” Such extra-budgetary expenditures constitute a breach of Section 81 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and an illegality.”

He stressed that, “the Service-wide Vote had become an alternative budget which government prefers to patronise than the annual budget, leading to poor implementation of the annual budget as approved by the National Assembly.”

Reps to consider 2014 budget January
The House of Representatives at the weekend disclosed that consideration of the 2014 budget estimate would kick start by January next year.

The Deputy Spokesman of the House, Honourable Victor Ogene while briefing newsmen said budget consideration would be the first business of the legislators when the House resumes from  its Christmas break in January 2014.

President Goodluck Jonathan represented by  the Coordinating Minister of Economy and Finance Minister, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had on Thursday presented the 2014 budget proposal estimated at N4.642 trillion to both chambers of the National Assembly for consideration and eventual passage.

Also speaking on the defection of 37 members of PDP in the House to the rival party, APC, Honourable Ogene said that the defection was a welcome development.

According to him, “For us the development is in the interest of the Nigerian democracy. There has to be dissent for democracy to thrive. If we all agree on the same issues then that will not be democracy. Democracy all the time is the rule of the majority, and for us since we are in a legislature it is a welcome development”.

On the fallout of the defection as to likely changes in the composition of principal officers of the House, Honourable Ogene maintained that the mode of election of principal officers of the parliament is subject to the provision of the House Rules and relevant laws as explicitly defined in Sections 50 and 60 of the 1999 Nigerian constitution.

He added that, “If the Speaker checks the records from the Clerk of the House who is the custodian of the register and when that is confirmed then the nomenclature changes.”