Former president of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Ismaila Muhammadu Zakari, has disclosed that the Federal Government made a number of unapproved payments in 2019, totaling over N200 billion.
According to Guardian, Zakari disclosed this at a two-day Audit Reporting Workshop organized by FrontFoot Media Initiative in Lagos which ended on Thursday.
He also revealed number of irregularities and shortcomings in the 2019 Federal Government Audit Report.
He said the payments were not supported by the necessary documentation and may have violated the country’s Public Procurement Act.
He said these irregularities were found by the Auditor General, who also disclosed that over N100 billion could not be accounted for in the Federal Government’s 2019 financial statements, which suggests that the funds may have been misused or stolen.
Zakari said also found was the Federal Government’s weak internal controls in place, which makes it difficult to prevent and detect fraud.
He disclosed that the report also found that the Federal Government’s revenue collection efforts were weak, resulting in a significant revenue shortfall.
Zakari noted that the report also found that the government’s expenditure on non-essential items was excessive as well as the debt stock, which was rising rapidly.
He said the Auditor-General recommended that the government reduce its expenditure on non-essential items and focus on spending on essential services such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure.
Zakari stressed that other recommendations include that the government develops a comprehensive debt management strategy to ensure that its debt is sustainable, while also improving its revenue collection efforts by expanding the tax base, streamlining tax administration processes, and cracking down on tax evasion.
The former ICAN boss also explained that the Federal Government should consider amending the constitution so the president must lay the yearly audited accounts before the National Assembly in the same way he seeks legislative approval of the budget.
