Matilda Omonaiye/
The Federal Government of Nigeria paid over N200 billion in 2019 without approval, former president of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Ismaila Muhammadu Zakari, has revealed.
Zakari stated that the payments were not supported by the requisite documentation and might have violated the country’s Public Procurement Act.
He revealed a number of anomalies and shortcomings in the 2019 Federal Government Audit Report at a two-day Audit Reporting Workshop organised by FrontFoot Media Initiative in Lagos.
These discrepancies were discovered by the Auditor General, who also disclosed that over N100 billion could not be accounted for in the Federal Government’s 2019 financial statements, which suggests theft or misappropriation.
He blamed the Federal Government’s poor revenue collection efforts and weak internal controls, which makes it tough to avert and detect fraud.
The report also discovered that the government’s expenditure on non-essential items was disproportionate as well as the debt stock, which was rising rapidly.
The Auditor-General charged the government to reduce its expenditure on non-essential items and emphasise spending on essential services such as infrastructure, healthcare, and education.
The government was also urged to advance a comprehensive debt management strategy to ensure that its debt is sustainable, while also improving its revenue collection efforts by expanding the tax base, streamlining tax administration processes, and cracking down on tax evasion.
The former ICAN boss seeks a mandatory yearly audited account submitted before the National Assembly in the same way he seeks legislative approval of the budget.
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