Senate: MDAs Mismanaged N3.8tn Service Wide Vote

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate has indicted federal ministries, departments and agencies for mismanaging Service Wide Votes (SWV) to the tune of about N3.8 trillion between 2017- 2021

The Senate  therefore recommended to the executive arm of government to use supplementary budget approach to meet emergencies instead of Service Wide Vote.

This was contained in the report of the Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC) based on the annual reports submitted to the National Assembly by the Auditor General for the Federation

According to the SPAC report, “The Executive should be advised to use Supplementary budget approach to meet emergencies or shortfall rather than the current Service Wide Vote mechanism which amounts to affront /erosion of the approval powers of the National Assembly.”

The Chairman of the Senate Committee,  Senator Matthew Uhroghide, had conducted investigation into disbursement of Service Wide Votes.

The Committee invited 207 government agencies for the investigation, but only 119 agencies appeared before the committee while 85 agencies shunned the invitations of the Committee.

Among the agencies that shunned the Committee investigation were State House,  Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),  Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,  Ministry of Petroleum Resources, , Nigeria Defence Academy,  Federal Ministry of Health,  and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria.

In the report which was upheld by the Senate, some agencies did not make formal request for the money that was sent to them by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

It was also discovered that hundred of billions were claimed to have been used for the purpose of paying salaries shortfalls whereas  such agencies had already collected appropriate for personnel emoluments and were IPPIS platform.

The Senate further discovered that MDAs have not been disclosing Service Wide Votes transaction documents such as payment vouchers,  vote book.  Senate therefore urged the Executive should limit the release of Service Wide Vote to recurrent emergencies or shortfall genuinely desired with satisfactory proof.

It also recommended in-depth investigation into depth the operations of IPPIS to stern the rising cases of irregularities in the system.