The committee in charge of public account have expressed their utmost dissatisfaction regarding the way they are treated and to be exact, the way their invitations to ministries and governmental departments are treated.
Senate Committee on Public account sent out invitations to 14 ministries and departments in the country and the response they got was too poor which has made them express their disappointment in a statement.
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Committee on Public Accounts on Tuesday expressed disappointment over the manner its invitations to Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government were usually treated.
The invitation sent out was for the organizations or ministries and departments to attend the investigative hearing. The chairman of the committee, Senator Matthew Urhoghide, explained how some government ministries have failed to honor their invitation on the day of the investigative hearing.
A total of 14 agencies were invited and out of them, the following government agencies as confirmed by the committee did not honor the invitation
“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Federal Inland Revenue (FIRS), National Bureau of Statistics (DMO), and Head of the Civil Service of the Federal”
A statement by Senator Matthew Uroghide,
“We are going to look into all our extant rules, the Public Procurement Act, Fiscal Responsibility Act, Financial Regulations and all Public Spending.
“I want you to be as serious as possible and for those agencies talking about representation, it is not going to be allowed. So, you go back and tell your principal, we are going to subordinate you to an oath and anything you tell us.
“Tomorrow, if anybody takes us to court, we are going to have proper justification and evidence to say yes, you came to the national assembly and this is what you said.
“So, if you are going to answer these queries through proxies, it is unacceptable. You must tell your heads who are here that there are consequences that have been earmarked in the financial regulations, if you were to spend money without authorization, the regulation says you should be removed from office.
“That is what we are going to tell the President of this country, the executive must comply that you are removed from office.
“Nobody is going to shave your hair while you are out there. Therefore, if you send somebody to us it is unacceptable, even if you do not appear, it only means that you have accepted the guilt and we are right about you.”
