Uche Usim, Abuja
The Federal Government has saved over N37 billion from misapplications, paddings, mistakes and non-compliance by various Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) following successful deployment of infrastructure that enhanced transparency in governance.
The Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris, stated this in Abuja Tuesday when he hosted the National Executive of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria.
Idris explained that, following President Buhari’s directive that N10 billion be set aside monthly as from May 2017 to offset backlog of promotion arrears, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) inaugurated an in-house committee to verify MDAs’ claims and submissions.
“So far, the committee has paid out the sum of N42 billion, out of the N55 billion released leaving an outstanding of N13 billion in cash while a total of N35 billion is yet to be released to the office”, he added.
Furthermore, the AGF promised that he would bring the concerns of his guest to the notice of the Minister of Finance and would also dialogue with the Director General, Budget Office, to ensure that the government continues to keep its part of the agreement with the Association in order to ensure industrial harmony.
He reassured civil servants in the country of the commitment of Office of the Accountant –General of the Federation, in line with the President’s directives, to the continued payment of promotion arrears owed federal civil servants.
He commended the leadership of the Association of Senior Civil Servants for their understanding and support in the implementation of government plans and programmes, saying without industrial harmony no meaningful development can be achieved.
The AGF equally commended the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation’s arm of the Association for their understanding and support assuring them of his continued commitment to improving the welfare of staff through the implementation of people-oriented programme.
Earlier, the President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, (ASCSN), represented by the Vice President, Comrade Bola Audu Innocent, extolled the leadership qualities of Idris, saying he had displayed professionalism in managing the nation’s treasury.
“We as a union is proud of your achievements and contribution to nation building at this level”, Audu added.
He, however, informed the AGF that their visit was necessitated by recent developments from the payment of outstanding promotion salaries and other arrears owed civil servants in the public service, where the association understood that concerns raised by the Budget Office is leading to delay in the continued payment of the arrears.
Audu explained that failure of the government to continue to honour the agreement signed in May 2017 might lead to industrial unrest.