The Senate’s Public Accounts Committee has questioned the State House and 557 ministries, departments, and agencies about the failure to account for N969 billion in “intangible assets” recorded in the 2019 budget. This issue appears in the 2019 Annual Report of the Auditor‑General of the Federation, which the committee is currently reviewing.
During the hearing, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Hadeija, members expressed concern over the massive sum classified as intangible assets. The Auditor‑General’s report noted that “audit observed from a review of notes 36 and 36A (Intangible Asset) to the FGN’s consolidated financial statement that the sum of N969 billion was categorised under Note 36A as intangible assets without a schedule showing the classification or nature of the assets, contrary to the provision of International Public Sector Accounting Standard 31.” The report added that there was no disclosure enabling auditors to determine which intangible assets have finite or infinite lives, making it impossible to decide whether amortisation should be applied.
Shuaibu Sikiru, the representative of the Accountant‑General of the Federation, said the template would be redesigned to incorporate the auditor’s observations in future years.
The agencies involved include the State House, Bureau of Public Enterprises, Bureau of Public Procurement, National Population Commission, Federal Colleges of Forestry (Ibadan and Jos), National Orientation Agency, Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Nigeria Police Academy (Wudili), Federal Civil Service Commission, Office of the National Security Adviser, Federal Ministry of Interior, Nigeria Immigration Service, Federal Fire Service, Police Formation and Command Headquarters, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board, Federal Training Center (Ilorin), Office of the Economic Adviser to the President, National Broadcasting Commission, Voice of Nigeria, Nigerian Film Corporation, National Theatre, Federal Ministry of Information, News Agency of Nigeria, Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, among many others.
Last week, the National Assembly passed the Federal Audit Service Bill, which prescribes, among other penalties, a five‑year jail term for accounting officers who obstruct the Auditor‑General’s access to their books. Senate Public Accounts Committee Chairman Matthew Urhoghide told journalists that the legislation aims to strengthen the Auditor‑General’s office, which is tasked with checking systemic corruption by scrutinising all expenditures of ministries, departments, and agencies as mandated by Section 85 of the Constitution.
The bill also establishes a Federal Audit Commission to ensure that qualified accountants—not politically appointed personnel—staff the audit function. The commission will recruit competent staff to audit the accounts of the more than 797 federal agencies. Under the bill, the minimum penalty for an individual offender is five years’ imprisonment, a fine of N5 million, or both.
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