An audit report has revealed that a former Accountant General of the Federation unilaterally signed the Federal Government’s 2019 financial statement of N26 trillion without the counter-signing of the then Minister of Finance. This action was in violation of financial regulations.
According to the report submitted to the National Assembly by the Auditor-General of the Federation, Paragraph 103 of the Financial Regulations states that the Minister of Finance is responsible for all financial business of the government of the federation, and Paragraph 105 empowers the Minister of Finance to issue financial regulations.
The report noted that the former Accountant General was the only officer who signed the consolidated statement of financial position without indicating his Financial Reporting Council (FRC) of Nigeria registration number, which was required for approval. The absence of the Finance Minister’s signature with an FRC registration number was also highlighted as an anomaly.
The acting Accountant General of the Federation at the time of the audit report stated that she was not in office during the signing of the financial statement.