Chukwu David 
The Senate, yesterday, threatened to invoke parliamentary sanctions against any head of Federal Government agency which had been indicted for financial infractions in the report submitted to the National Assembly by the Auditor General for the Federation (AuGF).
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Legislative Compliance, Senator Garba Madoki, gave the warning at a one-day roundtable workshop on ‘Strengthening Legislative Compliance for Effective Governance.’
The workshop was organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), for the Senate Committee on Legislative Compliance.
Madoki lamented the rate at which heads of the MDAs have been shunning Senate summons and warned that further disregard for the resolutions of the red chamber would no longer be tolerated.
He said: “We are going to be very strict on the report of the Auditor General for the Federation. We are taking notes of those items. In a very short while, measures are going to be taken against everybody who refused to comply with Senate resolutions on the matter.
Where compliance is not done, I can guarantee you that actions will be taken against whoever is infringing on those reports.”
The AuGF had a few months ago, expressed concerns over irregularities and weaknesses in financial regulations across ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government, especially in the disbursement and utilisation of public funds.
The AuGF noted that transparency and accountability in government financial management systems could not be over-emphasised, particularly given the country’s rapidly dwindling revenues as well as its impact on annual budget.
The Auditor General, in his latest annual report on the financial conduct of public institutions, currently before the two chambers of the National Assembly, had revealed that a total sum of N105.66 billion had been expended by MDAs in breach of extant rules and regulations.
The report stated that N18.36 billion had been awarded for contracts without regard to the Public Procurement Act, just as the AuGF also expressed concern about the persisted inherent weaknesses in the system despite his previous recommendations to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning as well as the Accountant General of the Federation for prompt actions.
However the Chairman of the Senate Legislative Compliance panel said, the Senate Committee on Public Accounts is already dealing with the AuGF report.
The Director General, National Institute For Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Prof Abubakar Sulaiman, lamented that the task of ensuring compliance with the laws, resolutions, and policies by MDAs is often fraught with challenges.
