The Federal Ministry of Finance is responsible for the management and control of all finances of the Federal Government as prescribed by the constitution of the country.

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FG Committed To Transparency, Accountability of Federation Account – Babalola
Thursday, December 10, 2009 FG Committed To Transparency, Accountability of Federation Account – Babalola The Honourable Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola, affirmed on Thursday that the Federal Government was fully committed to ensuring transparency and accountability of the Federation Account. Babalola, who confirmed this in Abuja while presiding over the FAAC meeting, disclosed that members of the committee had ensured strict adherence to the enabling Act which mandated it to share allocations from the Federation Account to the three tiers of government in line with the extant laws of revenue allocation. All federally collected revenues are paid monthly into the Federation Account, which are approved and distributed among the three tiers of government by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). The minister said, “We have ensured strict adherence to this mandate by maintaining openness and fairness thus avoiding what can be described as the constant temptation of slipping into less regulated ways of wielding power, of becoming less democratic as we go along. “Without being immodest, let me rehash that we have conducted the business of FAAC in a more pragmatic manner than what it used to be in previous years. At present, we are in the process of embarking on the publication of a well restructured, more elaborate and a compendium of all allocations made to the various tiers of government. “There is no better way to achieve integrity and accountability within government and government transactions than by promoting transparency and openness. Nigerians must be able to know how the operations of the Federation Account work and have confidence that the authority vested in us has been exercised appropriately.” The FAAC chairman also assured members of the Federal Government’s commitment in the improvement of the available data on Federation Account allocation to all tiers of government in the country. He noted that all segments of the nation’s society was vital to making informed decisions about how to strengthen capacity within the public sector to deliver efficient and effective services, promote innovative policy responses to community needs, and also proffer strategies to improve support for all government programmes. Reviewing the outing FAAC year, Babalola disclosed that the Committee recorded some significant achievements during the period. According to him, the Committee resolved the protracted problem of the one per cent commission that was charged by the Central Bank of Nigeria on the refunds due the Federation Account as a result of the Paris Club debt exit which this administration inherited. He confirmed that all the monies have been duly refunded by the CBN. Besides, he stated that there has a remarkable progress in the government’s quest to diversify and grow the nation’s economic base. “The Committee invited some experienced persons in the areas of internally generated revenue and agriculture to share with members their experiences. These series of interactions were very useful and has helped propel and sharpen us to do things differently,” he added. Other headline achievements by the Committee during the outgoing year include: * The Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was made to acknowledge its indebtedness to the Federation Account following observations made that the corporation held back some amounts. The Committee is working with them to ensure repayment as soon as possible. * Stimulus packages to reflate and stimulate the economy following the unintended consequences of the recent banking system reforms and harsh realities of the global financial crisis to the various tiers of government were also carried out in the course of this year. * All unutilized funds by Agencies derived from the Federation Account but not paid back were reconciled and refunds back to the Federation Account commenced. * More importantly, FAAC commissioned the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation to carry out the audit of the Federation Account in line with its mantra of transparency, accountability and respect for rule of law. * The meeting of the Commissioners’ Forum was strengthened into a veritable body including the provision of an office within the Federal Ministry of Finance for its activities. * FAAC members have kept faith with their resolve to hold meetings before the 15th of every month, so that salaries can be paid by all tiers of government on time. * FAAC commenced the deduction of the amount borrowed from the Domestic Excess Crude Account from the allocation of debtor states. This has been outstanding for over four years without repayment. * FAAC has made deductions for fertilizer supplied to States for the 2008/2009 season devoid of any form of rancour in the course of the year. END This news was created on 12/10/2009