Lawan talks tough as 59 MDAs fail to account for public funds

Senate President Ahmad Lawan says the upper legislative chamber will not hesitate to publish names of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) that have failed to account for public funds.

Lawan spoke on Wednesday on the floor of the senate after Matthew Urhoghide, chairman of the senate committee on public accounts, presented a report in plenary.

The report was on public funds of the country for the year 2015.

The senate president said one of the major responsibilities of the national assembly is to hold the executive to account.

Lawan noted that the senate will publish the names of the MDAs that have failed to account for funds, adding that any public official who is not accountable should “has no business being in government”.

“Whoever is given the responsibility and the trust of running any agency with public funds must be accountable to the parliament on behalf of the people,” he said.

“You have indicated a certain number of MDAs who failed to come to the committee after invitation, I want you to go through your documents, the invitation letters with reminders.

“This senate will publish the names of these agencies for the public to know. This senate will insist; any public servant or civil servant that is given public funds for public good and has questions to answer and refuses to appear to answer, should have no business being in government.

“All of us are supposed to be accountable to the people and, therefore, if someone feels that he is not going to be accountable, then that person has no business remaining in office.”

Earlier, Urhoghide, while presenting the report, said MDAs who have failed to account for public funds should not draw funds from the federal government for their operations.

In the report seen by TheCable, ministries of information and culture, sports and the army are among 59 MDAs that were queried by the office of the auditor-general of the federation (AGF).