The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) blocked the diversion of N189 billion unspent surplus in personnel costs across federal government establishments between 2019 and 2020, a report by Agora Policy has revealed.

The blocked amount was equivalent of 8.25 percent of the N2.29 trillion aggregate budget for personnel costs in 2019.

According to the Agora Policy report titled, ?Imperative of Strengthening Nigeria?s Transparency and Accountability Measures,? through the monitoring of the Open Treasury Portal, the ICPC succeeded in blocking the diversion of N189 billion unspent surplus in personnel costs across the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAS) between 2019 and 2020.

The Open Treasury Portal was inaugurated in December 2019, to ensure transparency in government spending by former President Muhammadu Buhari, who directed all MDAs to compulsorily publish on the portal, daily summary statements of financial records above N5 million.

The portal also requires monthly updates from the Accountant General of the Federation and MDAs on their respective monthly budget performance reports, and all economic activities of the agencies within seven days of the end of each month.

The blocked money, the report said, came about through budget manipulation by government officials that normally resulted in MDAs receiving allocations and releases beyond their actual needs.

A THISDAY analysis showed that this sharp practice might explain the steady increase in budgetary allocations on personnel costs year-on-year.

For instance, personnel costs stood at N1.6 trillion in 2016, rising to N2.90 trillion in 2017 (an increase of N1.21 trillion) or 71.60 percent.

The trend has continued till date even when there are no official upward reviews of federal government workers? emoluments or minimum wage adjustments.

However, the Agora Policy report stated that despite the modest gains, the Open Treasury Portal was beset with implementation challenges, adding that not all required information are constantly uploaded and updated.

?The policy is however beset with implementation challenges. While it is a policy declared by the federal government and the key units of government as responsible for providing the needed information, a visit to the portal reveals that not all required information are constantly uploaded and updated.

?For instance, not all MDAs have their daily financial records summary on the portal ? the report said, adding that from the existing data gaps, although the policy had been declared and the MDAs are aware of the guidelines for keeping the portal active, updated and accessible, it still contends with a combination of factors.

?These factors include non-compliance by the officials whose duty it is to compile the information, technical challenges arising from limitations of equipment and facilities, and outright sabotage. There are some commendations in spite of these ills,? the report stated.

On the Whistleblowing policy, the report noted that it appears that Nigerians are caught between the caught between the contradiction of participating in corruption for survival and lamenting its adverse effects on their society, stressing that like all other transparency and accountability policies, there also institutional barriers to effective Whistleblowing.

The report observed that the heavy cost that corruption inflicts on Nigeria had been well documented in various studies, three of which were worth highlighting.

?The first, which is a 2029 study conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which revealed that ?on average, bribe-payers pay an amount equivalent of up to six percent of the average annual income of Nigerians.?

?The second is a 2009 African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) report that identified corruption as the greatest and most troubling challenge to Nigeria?s ability to realise its huge development potential.

?The third is a 2016 report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers which estimated that Nigeria risks losing up to 37 percent of its GDP to corruption by 2030 if the scourge is not dealt with immediately,? the Agory Policy report stated. (THISDAY)

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