By Joyce Babayeju
The House of Representatives has invited the accountant-general of thefederation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to appear before it
on the financial discrepancies in the financies of the Nigerian Investment
Promotion Council (NIPC).
The chairman of the House Committe on Finance, Hon James Faleke, extended
the invitation at the panel’s ongoing hearing on monitoring the revenue of federal Ministries, Departments, and
Agencies.
The committee queried the NIPC for recording expedited expenditures of N3.15 billion despite submitting a revenue of N2.89 billion in the first
quarter of the 2024 fiscal year.
The director of Finance and Administration of NPC, Akwada James, told the committee that the amount
was the projected expenditure for the year. According to him, this is
because the commission’s income does not come at a certain time; hence, it has
“committed spending in the budget for the year.”Faleke, while wondering how the agency The House of Representatives has invited the accountant-general of
the federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to appear before it on the financial discrepancies in the National Investment
Promotion Commission (NIPC).
Faleke, while wondering how the agency could budget for what it had not done yet, said: “The revenue collection
for first quarter 2024 is 2.89 billion and your expenditure for that same period is N3.15 billions.
“If you are giving us revenue for a quarter, the expenditure for that quarter should be stated, not the whole. How can you give me expenditure
for the whole year?”Faleke retorted the NPC official’s response that it was
the format the budget office gave to the agency.“No, sir, we don’t like that
format here. It’s confusing.
How can you tell me you generated N2.8 billion and, on record, you spent N3.1 billion? We asked where you got the
money and who gave you the authority to spend above budget?”
“If you are giving us revenue for a quarter, the expenditure for that quarter should be stated, not the whole. How can you give me expenditure
for the whole year?”Faleke retorted the NPC official’s response that it was the format the budget office gave to the agency.“No, sir, we don’t like that
format here. It’s confusing. How can you tell me you generated N2.8 billion and, on record, you spent N3.1 billion? We asked where you got the money and who gave you the authority to spend above
budget?”
