The Federal Government’s 2019 financial statement of N26tn was unilaterally signed by a former Accountant General of the Federation, as revealed in an audit report.
This revelation occurred during the Senate Public Accounts Committee’s consideration of the audit report, chaired by Senator Ahmed Wadada.
In a 2019 report submitted to the National Assembly, the Auditor-General of the Federation pointed out that the then Accountant General had signed the document without the required counter-signature by the Minister of Finance, which was against financial regulations.
The Auditor-General’s office cited relevant provisions from the Financial Regulations to support this claim.
According to Paragraph 103 of the Financial Regulations, “The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria assigned to the Minister of Finance the responsibility for all financial matters of the government of the federation.”
Paragraph 105 of the Financial Regulations empowers the Minister of Finance to issue financial regulations applicable to various government offices.
This implies that the Minister of Finance is the Chief Executive Officer regarding government financial matters.
At the time, Ahmed Idris held the position of Accountant General of the Federation but was later suspended due to allegations of financial misconduct amounting to N109bn.
The audit report also noted that the consolidated financial statement was signed solely by the Accountant General of the Federation without indicating his FRC of Nigeria registration number, a component necessary for the approval of the CFS, in violation of existing regulations.
Furthermore, there was no signature with the FRC of Nigeria registration number of the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position.
These discrepancies can be attributed to weaknesses in the internal control system during the consolidation process.
In response to the report, the acting Accountant General of the Federation, Toyin Madein, clarified that she was not in office at the time when the financial statement was signed.
