The Senate has begun a probe into an alleged spending of N258m by the Financial Reporting Council in Nigeria as personnel cost in its 2017 budget without the approval of the National Assembly.
The Senate Public Accounts Committee based its decision to investigate the FRC on a query from the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation as contained in the 2015 to 2018 AuGF report currently being checked by both chambers of the federal legislature.
The AuGF query read in part, “We observed from our audit, that the council incurred the sum of N339,834,586.00 as against N81,245,107.00 contained in the 2017 approved budget.
“This resulted in an extra-budgetary expenditure of N258,589,479.00 on personnel cost.
“This non-compliance with the Appropriation Act was due to the failure of the executive secretary to seek approval for supplementary budget from the appropriate authorities, that is, through the Ministry of Finance and National Assembly.”
TheExecutive Secretary of FRC, Daniel Asapokhai, defended, the extra money spent was to augment the agency’s personnel cost for the fiscal year.
He said, “For the year 2017, the sum of N81m was appropriated as government subvention for personnel cost for the council.
“The amount in question was to augment the council’s personnel cost from for the fiscal year in question.
“The council customarily prepares its budget at the beginning of every year detailing both Internally Generated Revenue, and government subvention. This is usually sent for approval before implementation.
“The council has an approved salary structure which it pays from the IGR.
“The amount referenced by the auditors as over expenditures not approved was staff salary funded via IGR which is contained in the approved budget.”
The chairman of the senate committee, Senator Mathew Urhoghide, nevertheless, asked the executive secretary of FRC to present the approval for N258m extra-budgetary expenditure by the National Assembly.
The executive secretary promised to send the document backing the expenditure to committee secretariat as evidence for the spending.
Urhoghide decried the incessant cases of extra budgetary spending by federal agencies and promised that his committee would ensure that the practice was properly check-mated.
He said, “We will ensure that all cases of extra budgetary spending are thoroughly investigated. It is a matter of constitution that agencies which must spend more than what was approved for them, should revert to the National Assembly.
“Many of the MDAs have not been coming for approval for extra spending and this has to stop,” Urhoghide added.
Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been ruled out of Sunday’s Serie A game against Champions League rivals Atalanta with a flexor muscle issue.
Coach Andrea Pirlo said the
36-year-old Portuguese striker, the top scorer in Serie A this season with 25
goals, would rest to avoid risking a more serious injury.
“We have an important
absentee. Unfortunately, Cristiano will not be taking part in the match due to
a problem with his flexor,” Pirlo told a pre-match press conference.
“Over these past few days, he
has not been able to recover from the problem sustained after last Sunday’s
match against Genoa.
“He hasn’t been able to push
himself this week. It would be too risky for us to bring him to Bergamo
tomorrow.
“We have decided to leave him
in Turin to rest and we will try to have him back for Wednesday’s match against
Parma.”
Champions Juventus are third,
12 points off leaders Inter Milan, with their nine-year reign looking set to
end.
They play fourth-placed
Atalanta who are just a point behind, with next week’s game at
relegation-threatened Parma.
Pirlo blamed the five-time
Ballon d’Or winner’s problem on fatigue.
“Cristiano has always been in
excellent condition,” said the Juventus coach.
“Unfortunately, the three
matches in the national team have led to an accumulation of fatigue which is a
problem for everyone.
“Cristiano also told me that
in the national team he should only have played two games, but then that goal
not given against Serbia led him to play the third as well, otherwise he would
have been back at Juve’s disposal before the third game.
“An accumulation of
everything, travel and games, can lead to fatigue. (Manchester City manager
Pep) Guardiola also said it, there have been too many matches and the squads
are too tight and these are the consequences.
“We also saw it in the
Champions League, with (Bayern Munich’s Robert) Lewandowski who was unable to
play the Champions League quarter-finals League due to an injury picked up in the
national team.”
Juventus can however count on
Argentina striker Paulo Dybala who will start for the first time in over three
months, after a long knee injury layoff, partnering Alvaro Morata upfront.
Italy defender Leonardo
Bonucci has recovered from Covid-19 contracted while with the national team but
will start on the bench.
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, on Saturday morning, met with Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, at the Government House, Oke Ayoba, Ado Ekiti, the state capital.
Speaking after the meeting, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Yinka Oyebode, said the 79-year-old cleric paid a courtesy call on the governor.
The Yoruba self-determination rally organised by the Ilana Omo Oodua is underway in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Hundreds of members of the
group whose leader is an 86-year-old Emeritus Professor of History, Banji
Akintoye, had initially scheduled the take-off of the rally for the ancient
Mapo Hall but the heavy presence of armed policemen forced them to change the
venue.
They are addressing people at
Mapo Roundabout but they were not disturbed by the police in any way.
The agitators are armed with banners and Yoruba nation flags while leaders of the group addressing the people are saying Yoruba people are tired of staying with Nigeria.
One of the leaders of the
group, Basorun Kunle Adesokan, said Yoruba were no longer part of Nigeria and
the people want to be an independent nation.
He condemned the insecurity in
Yorubaland, saying the people could no longer stand the injustice in Nigeria.
Adesojan said, “We are no
longer part of Nigeria. Yoruba people are determined to stand alone. We are
starting the rally here in Ibadan because this is the capital of the Yoruba
nation.
” Our brothers in Kwara,
Lagos, Kogi, Edo, Delta and other states are here. We are not going to use
violence, we want the Yoruba nation. No retreat no surrender. Let Hausa go
their way, let Fulani go their own way and Igbo people should also go.
“The rally has taken off, we
won’t stop until we achieve our aim.”
One of the leaders of Itsekiri
youths present at the rally, Isaac Ajatitan, said Itsekiri people were part of
Yoruba and would support them to achieve this aim.