The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) has successfully blocked the diversion of N189 billion unspent surplus in personnel costs across federal government establishments between 2019 and 2020, a report by Agora Policy have revealed.
The amount was equivalent of 8.25 percent of the N2.29 trillion aggregate budget for personnel costs in 2019.
According to the 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.
The trend have 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.
