Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, has called on the National Assembly to enact laws that would strengthen the public financial management reforms such the Treasury Single Account (TSA), IPPIS, IPSAS and GIFMIS being implemented by his office.

He made the appeal while receiving members of the Senate Committee on Public Account who visited the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) as part of their mandate in ensuring accountability, transparency and value-for-money in the management of public accounts of the federation.

Mr. Idris while responding to some issues raised by the visitors noted that the OAGF is facing a myriad of challenges whilst stressing that the office has also recorded a lot of successes. Some of the challenges enumerated by him include non-compliance of several government agencies with the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act requiring the payment of 80%of the operating surplus to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF). He called on the committee members to use their good offices to help enact laws that would help to resolve the problem.

Speaking further, Mr. Idris noted that there is a lack of appropriate sanctions against MDAs that spend revenue generated without authorisation.

He reiterated the dedication of his office, otherwise known as the Treasury House, towards the success of the reform policies of government, disclosing that OAGF has employed the services of a Quality Control Assurance Manager in this regard.

The Accountant-General also highlighted some of the achievements of the Treasury House in the seven months since he assumed duty as the AGF. Some of these include the acquisition of six new buses for staff movement, a brand new car port, establishing a crèche for babies of staff members to ease the stress on parents during office hours, and a clinic that can sleep 12 patients – 6 male and 6 female, ICT equipments and several others.

In his address, Chairman of the Committee, Senator Andy Ubah, stated that it is constitutionally approved by government for oversight functions on the OAGF. He said that they are dedicated stakeholders in the struggle to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Constitution, Senate standing orders and extant acts towards ensuring economy efficiency and effectiveness in the management of public funds in spite of their busy schedule at the National Assembly.

•Photo shows AGF Ahmed Idris.

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