The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has commenced investigations into how Nigeria’s foreign mission engage in extra budgetary spending and fail to remit internally generated revenue into government coffers.
The report of how some embassies spent over N13 billion not budgeted for is contained in the report of the Auditor General for the Federation on the financial and other activities of the foreign missions and the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affair between 2010 and 2019 which the Public Accounts Committee is currently looking into.
The House Committee is currently in London investigating the Nigeria Port Authority and the Nigeria High Commission In the United Kingdom.
The Auditor General said in the report that efforts to audit the accounts of some of the missions were rebuffed by staff of such embassies.
It was alleged that they were acting on the orders of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs who allegedly directed them not to allow staff of the Auditor General access to their books.
Read Also: Finance, Power ministers to face Reps’ panel over $33m PPA
In the over 450 paged document seen by our Reporter, the Auditor General raised the alarm over the habit of the foreign missions to engage in extra budgetary expenses and refusal to remit generated revenue into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation, while also engaging in activities that had negative impct on the nation’s finances.
The Auditor General said “the practice where Nigerian Missions over-expended their allocations with impunity should be frowned at.
“It should be noted that this action is a contravention of financial regulation which stipulates that no expenditure on any sub-head of the Recurrent Estimates in excess of the provision in the approved estimates or supplementary estimates may be authorized by any officer controlling a vote without the prior approval of the National Assembly.
“I am deeply worried at the non-adherence to budgetary provisions by most missions. It is important to note that this act contravenes the provision of extant regulations which stipulates that no expenditure on any sub-head of the Recurrent Estimates in excess of the provision in the approved estimates or supplementary estimates may be authorized by any officer controlling a vote without the prior approval of the National Assembly.
“It should also be noted that this practice makes nonsense of the Appropriation.