OAGF Warns MDAs on Posting of Treasury Officers

The Accountant –General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Ahmed Idris has urged Government  MDAs that are in the habit of rejecting Treasury Staff posted to them to desist from such or be ready to  face the consequences of their action which among other things will ultimately lead to such MDA being denied access to the public payment platform manned by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

Mr. Idris gave this indication  in Abuja when he recieved in audience the managment team of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, (NASENI) lead by the Acting Executive Vice Chiarman/ Chief Executive, Dr. Aliyu Maje Adanan.

He wondered why some Agencies, who rely on the Accountant General of the Federation for releases of funds  to implement their plans and programmes  will in turn reject Treasury officers sent to them to help them manage their finances effectively.

“The office of the Accountant-General of the Federation has been vested with the mandate of handling all payments and reciepts on behalf of Government. It should be noted that Treasury Staff have been specially  trained and equipped to perform these functions in MDAs inline with Financial Regulations and extant rules” the AGF maintains.

Furthermore, Mr Idris said “the principle of transparency and accountability, which this administration stands for must be seen in practical terms and in line with international  best practices. Accordingly, these principles do not allow one to be a judge in his own case. It is the role of Treasury officers to manage the Finance and Accounts Departments as well as the Internal Audit Units in MDAs. As long as you recieve public funds from government, you must allow the Treasury  officers to manage operations of the system and application of the funds” he emphasized.

The AGF further explained that Internal Auditors are sent to MDAs to ensure that funds are spent inline with laid down procedures and due processes. Ability of the Internal Auditor  to perform his function as expected is predicted on his independence; which must be practical in the real sense of the word. He added that “ the Auditor cannot be said to be independent when he is employed by and paid by the same organisation, and this leads to compromise”.

 He therefore called on Heads/ Chief Executives of Government Agencies who do not have Treasury officers manning their Accounts and Internal Audit functions to reconsider their position and come forward to the Treasury for deployment of trained officers to manage their Accounts and Internal Audit departments  in line  with international  best practices.

Earlier, the Ag. Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI, Dr. Adnan had extolled the “ remarkable achievements” of the Accountant General of the Federation since June 2015 when he was appointed.

Some of these achivements the Vice Chairman noted as (a) “improvement on the performance of the Treasury Single Account, (TSA) and subsequent saving of huge amount of money and its introduction (TSA)  to some states of the Federation”. (b) “Enhancement of the interoperability of the Government Intergrated Financial Management Information System(GIFMIS) with related Agencis and stakeholders for improved service delivery”. (c) “Accomplishment of the Financial Module of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System(IPPIS) and setting the phase for the Human Resource Module to take off”

He called for the support of the Treasury, to enable the office actualise their plans and programmes for the year.

Oise D. Johnson

Head, Press and Public Relations  (OAGF)

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NAF Extends Medical  Outreach to Taraba, Zamfara

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has extended its humanitarian services to parts of Taraba and Zamfara States, as part of efforts aimed at boosting civil-military relations and winning the hearts and minds of locals in conflict areas.

The medical outreach to Taraba State was held between 5 and 7 June 2018 at Nguroje and Gembu in Sardauna Local Government Area of the State.

The outreach, which witnessed a huge turnout of residents, was in two phases, with the first two days held at Nguroje Model Comprehensive Health Centre, where NAF medical personnel attended to the healthcare needs of locals. The third and final day of the outreach, which was held at the Baptist Hospital located in Gembu, was devoted to carrying out surgeries on patients.

 During the 3-day medical outreach, a total of 1,375 patients were attended to while 10 general surgeries and 27 eye surgeries were carried out on patients. Furthermore, 100 eyeglasses, 150 treated mosquito nets and other assorted drugs were given out to patients in addition to the conduct of mass deworming.

In a related development, the NAF had earlier conducted a similar medical outreach at Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State, as part of steps being taken by the current NAF leadership to promote civil-military relationship. During the 3-day medical outreach at Zurmi, from 15 to 17 May 2018, a total number of 1,635 patients were treated of various ailments.

 Besides, NAF surgeons conducted a total of 20 general surgeries as well as 12 eye surgeries, free of charge, on members of the community at the Zurmi General Hospital. Additionally, 100 eyeglasses were given out to patients while 150 treated mosquito nets were distributed to different families.

It is worth recalling that the NAF recently established quick response groups and wings in different parts of the country to bring security closer to those in remote places, in particular. One of the latest of such establishments is the 23 Quick Response Wing in Nguroje, Taraba State, to which NAF Special Forces were deployed on 12 May 2018.

OLATOKUNBO ADESANYA

Air Vice Marshal

Director of Public Relations and Information

Nigerian Air Force