The Senate has queried the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) over failure to release records of Global Fund for audit.
The query to the agency was hinged on the 2016 Report of Auditor-General of the Federation, which was submitted to the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Matthew Urhoghide.
Urhoghide criticised the agency for failing to include the financial activities of the Global Fund such as the amount received from the fund and its utilization into the 2015 Financial Statements of the agency.
According to him, “There is no proof before us that gave details of what you got from global funds. DFA, you were there when this query was raised in 2016.
“Why don’t you bring the necessary documents that would show us what you got from global fund? You were coming to the Senate to respond to the query raised against you and you didn’t bring any document to show us?”
The committee therefore sustained the query as the Director of Finance and Account of NACA refused to release records of Global Fund to the committee.
The query reads, “The records of Global Fund with the agency were not released for audit examination despite repeated demands. As a result, it was not possible to ascertain the total amount received from the fund during the year to form an objective opinion on the judicious utilization of the money. All efforts to obtain the records, including explanations, were not successful.
“Similarly, the financial activities of the Global Fund such as amount received from the fund and its utilization were not incorporated into the 2015 Financial Statements of the Agency, to form part of the agency’s Incomes and Expenditures for the year.
“The Financial Statements of the agency are expected to disclose not only funds from the Federal Government of Nigeria, but also incomes from other sources such as the Global Fund, World Bank, etc. Details of the utilization of the funds should also be disclosed, to give complete information regarding the financial position of the agency and to avoid misleading the public. The Director-General did not respond to my report dated 29th August, 2017. He should therefore be compelled to explain the incomplete financial statements.”
Reacting to the development, the Director of Finance and Account of NACA, Nsikak Ebong said the global fund grants records were always available for review, adding that the documents had always been made available to auditor or review on demand.
But the representative of the Auditor General of the Federation, Eyitayo Agehsin countered the Director of Finance and Account that when the request was made in 2016, NACA was unable to present the documents for audit.
“The report was written in August 2016 and they responded in February 20, 2017, almost about seven months after. We asked them to respond within 21 days but they didn’t do that. When NACA responded after seven months, they simply said: “This is noted.”
“That means that they agreed that they committed an error and you now said, the records are ready and available for your office at your convenience. That means we should come to your office again, the second time. We don’t have that time. We expect you to bring your records to the office to proof because the onus is on you to defend that record. You didn’t bring it,” Agehsin pointed out.
