Accountant general says money generated from training instituion
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Tender fees and other sundry subheadings in the training unit of the office of the federal accountant general has fetched N1.41 billion for the treasury in the past three years, even though it is a “service office”.
Federal Accountant General Ahmed Idris made the disclosure when he appeared before the House of Representatives Finance Committee in Abuja to defend the N10.470 billion budget of the office for 2022.
“Over the last three years we have been able to generate N1.14 billion by way of revenue even though we are a service office,” he told the lawmakers.
The revenue was sourced from the training institution of the office, tender fees, use of class rooms among others, he said, stressing that although the revenue was meagre it was accounted for.
“The personnel cost for 2022 is N4.34 billion and another leg of the personnel cost is the foreign service for all Nigerian missions abroad amounting to N4.747billion.”
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Envelope budgeting
Idris disclosed that the personnel cost for foreign missions was initially handled by the Foreign Affairs Ministry but was transferred to office of the Accountant General by an administrative circular.
He said the office of the Accountant General is now responsible for the payment of the salaries and estacode of foreign missions staff, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He added that overhead cost is N752.831 million and capital expenditure N629.6 million, explaining that the “envelope” for 2022 is almost the same as that of 2021.
“The envelope system is a money management technique that helps track exactly how much money you have in each budget category for the month by keeping your cash tucked away in physical envelopes,” explains Intuit MintLife.
“Once you’ve decided how much to budget for each category, you are only allowed to spend the amount of cash available in each envelope. Once you run out of cash, you can’t spend money in that category until the following month.”
Committee member Babajide Obanikoro had earlier queried the budget of the office of the federal Accountant General, saying it was similar to that of 2021.
Committee Chairman James Faleke also asked why the exchange rate for foreign missions in Idris’s presentation was put at N425 to the dollar as against N410 presented by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Idris explained that the exchange rate is higher because “we will still encounter certain charges by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“We can’t run away from that. Yes, it is pegged at N410 by the president but for CBN, we have to pay higher, we know that N410 is what is being approved.
“Getting the fund at appropriate rate is one thing but transmitting the funds are the elements that account for the higher charges.”
Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) Chairman Victor Muruako, who also defended the commission’s 2022 budget before the committee, pleaded for an overhaul of the FRC Act.