Alleged diversion of funds and demand for bribe have left several ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) in the cold and they may have to forfeit unremitted allocations unless they get the money before the year ends.
Most of them are groaning under unremitted allocations from the Budget Office with regard to overhead costs and capital votes.
TheNiche learnt that allocation was not made to virtually all federal government MDAs between January and March this year.
Allocation only started coming in April.
A source who did not want his name in print recounted that “when they started making releases in April this year, they did not say anything about the arrears of three months namely, January, February, and March.”
Nothing to do with oil price fall
The MDAs have not had allocations since August, and officials of the Ministry of Finance are said to be planning to release only the allocation for November.
“What this means,” explained the source, “is that the MDAs are actually going to forfeit their allocations for the months of January, February, March, September, October, and possibly December.
“These months’ allocations are all in arrears and we may not get them.”
The Ministry of Finance has stressed the need for austerity measures arising from the fall in oil price on the international market.
But some argued that the non release of statutory allocations to the MDAs has nothing to do with the fall in the price of oil, because it only occurred in the last two months.
“What happened in the first three months of this year and in August, September, and October? These months were before the oil price fall so why were our allocations seized, so to say, by the ministry officials?”, asked another source.
The MDAs had hoped the problem would be resolved at their last bi-monthly meeting at the accountant general’s office, but it was not even discussed.
“We were shocked that this issue, as important as it is, was not even mentioned during the meeting. They only talked about the possible release of the fourth quarter capital budget,” said a source who attended the meeting.
“Nobody has told us why this is so. They just prepare whatever they want and send to the Minister of Finance (Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala) for approval. No explanation is given to anybody as to why things are done this way.”
The source blamed the Budget Office in the Ministry of Finance for the problem.
Alleged diversion, bribery
Non compliance with budget has been a recurring decimal in Nigeria but experts say it got worse this year.
This is compounded by another allegation that Budget Office officials have turned the release of allocations into honey combs, with MDAs officials arm twisted to part with funds before their allocations are considered for release.
Those who agree to this secret proposal may get what is left of their allocations before the year runs out. Those who have refused to play ball may forfeit what is legitimately theirs.
Most MDAs are in a mess as they cannot honour financial obligations to contractors working for them. Some are not able to carry out capital projects.
Some parastatals find it difficult to run their offices. Even major ministries, such as that of education, have reportedly not paid staff salaries for three months running.
Civil servants in the MDAs are warming up for industrial action in the New Year if the arrears are not paid.
No response from Finance Ministry
Okonjo-Iweala’s Media Adviser, Paul Nwabuikwu, could not be reached for comment.
A visit to his office on the seventh floor at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja did not yield result.
Though TheNiche left contact and telephone numbers with the receptionist, with a plea that they be given to Nwabuikwu, or any other person in that position, there was no response at press time.
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