Consolidated Account: FG goes tough on NCC, SEC, JAMB, others

…gives new guidelines for compliance 

By ODUNEWU SEGUN

IN other to guide against the fraudulent tendencies by hundreds of government agencies who generate revenues, but fail to remit such into the Consolidated Revenue Fund, Minister for Finance, Kemi Adeosun has set out new accounting rules to curb such practices.
Adeosun in statement said that records have shown that the agencies affected have blatantly refused to comply with the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Such practices, the minister pointed out, were not sustainable under any economic circumstance. She said the current serious economic challenges Nigeria faces can no longer tolerate those practices.
Under the new rules book, boards and agencies of government currently operating outside the budgetary controls are directed to strictly comply with the law by ensuring all revenues and 80 per cent of their operating surpluses are credited to the consolidated revenue fund.
The minister directed all self-funded federal agencies to limit their annual expenditures from their internally generated revenues, IGRs, to not more than 75 per cent of their total gross revenue, while fully funded agencies must remit all their IGR to the CRF.
According to the minister, the guidelines would help recoup billions of naira wasted annually by the agencies that generate billions in revenues, but fail to pay same to the government, despite having all their administrative expenses covered in the federal budgets.
She said in the past, impunity reigned as agencies do not account to the government regardless of how much they generate despite the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007. The Act stipulates that revenue-generating establishments pay up to 80 per cent of their operating surplus into the government coffers.
“Some agencies have never credited the Consolidated Revenue Fund, despite having salary, capital and overhead financed by the Federal Government. Indeed, cost to income rates of 99.8% have been the average, meaning that they spend all their internally generated revenue and subventions released to them,” she said. To ensure continual monitoring, all MDAs funded through the annual budget must submit monthly Expenditure Transcripts and Revenue Returns, to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), while other agencies must prepare and submit quarterly management accounts, including Revenue Returns to the OAGF.
The minister reminded all MDAs that in line with Financial Regulations 107, the AGF shall carry out routine revenue monitoring and inspection visits to the MDAs to verify compliance with the new guidelines.
She vowed sanctions for any Accounting Officer/Chief Executive Officer of MDAs who defaults in remitting the revenues as appropriate.
“Renewal of the tenure of appointment of Accounting Officers/Chief Executive Officers shall be tied to their compliance with the content the new guidelines,” the minister said.
Some of the biggest violators of the Fiscal Responsibility Act are: NNPC, SEC, NPA, NIMASA, NAFDAC, JAMB, NCC, NTA, NECO and the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, etc.