The Senate has threatened to reduce the budgetary allocations of the country’s over 100 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) for 2023.
The threat was based on MDA heads repeatedly failing to appear before the Senate Public Accounts Committee to answer questions raised in the Auditor General’s report.
The Auditor General indicted some MDAs in the report from 2015 to date for issues such as frivolous spending, misappropriation of funds, inability to account for money spent, and payment of salaries to dead or retired employees, among others.
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Ministries of Interior, Finance, Health Information, Foreign Affairs, Women Affairs, Communications, and Special Duties are among those affected.
Others include the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Police, the State House, AMCON, NHIS, NEDC, INEC, the Debt Management Office, NEMA, NAFDAC, the National Human Rights Commission, and the Ministry of Works and Housing.
The threat came in response to a Point of Order raised by Matthew Urhoghide, chairman of the public accounts committee.
Under Orders 42 and 95, the legislator complained that the indicted MDAs had repeatedly ignored letters of invitation and summons sent out by the committee. He claimed they had failed to respond to the Auditor General’s inquiries.
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He reminded his colleagues that the Constitution and their Standing Orders empower them to summon the indicted MDAs via arrest warrants or a demand from the Senate President. As a result, he prayed that they use their power.
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, responded by saying that any public officer who accepts to serve and use public funds must be prepared to account for the funds. Anyone who believes he is above the law should resign.
He read out the names of the MDAs, over 100 in total, and gave them one week to contact the public accounts committee and set up a hearing date.
“If any of them fail to do so, with no communication or verifiable reason, we will slash their 2023 budget,” he added.