N4.97trn Y2019 unaccounted funds: Awakening political will to salvage bleeding Nigeria from corruption

Deep seated corruption has for long been a making character of governance in Nigeria. The systemic configuration of public offices in the Country is known to have been so porous that stealing from public pulse has been made so easy that funds meant for development have over the years largely found their destination into private pockets than for the good use of commonwealth. It could hence be submitted that at the expense of development, selfish aggrandizement of amassing wealth from public funds have largely been the impetus informing the aggressive jostling for public offices by the opportunists of the Country’s political space. Hence, it is not far fetch why politics in the Country have become a “do-or-die” – a deadly competitive struggle characterised with brutal negativities. Following, the trends over the years, opportunists have not ceased from going any length  with dirty politicking to assume public/political offices or crown their protege who they expect to play to their gallery. The heated character of election and appointments processes which are known not to be spared from bloody and mischievous escapades, are not far fetched from the get-cheap-money syndrome which is easily exploitable through public offices in the Country.

By reason of the defective orientation which drives the deep seated exploitation of the porous system to personal aggrandizement, the Country is now known to be a leading headquarters of corruption in the world, as reflected by global ratings from several international transparent organisations. The ratings of these international bodies are closely reliable given all revelations of internal exposures which by all ways reflect the deep seated profile of money laundering, diversion and misappropriation of funds taking turns concurrently in public offices across all levels of government in the Country. It has become known that the porosity of the system is such which leaves no level of public office sacred from the desecration of public trust. The exploitation of public funds have been known to be a possibility at any level of public office.

Recently, probes by the National Assembly have continued to reveal depths of unremitted, unaccounted, and untraceable funds from various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government. The invitation of majority of the heads of affected MDAs to give explanations to identified gaps have more or less appeared unsavoury with discomfitting outcomes of inability to proffer satisfactory explanations to clear the air and set the records right.

Again on Wednesday, the Auditor-General of the Federation, Adolphus Aghughu, while presenting the 2019 audit report to the National Assembly in Abuja, had disclosed that MDAs of the Federal Government failed to account for a total sum of N4.97trillion in 2019. The Auditor General who disclosed that the MDAs failed to substantiate the sum after an audit of their financial statements, emphasised that the N4.97trillion unsubstantiated balances are above the materiality level of N89.34billion set for the audit.

He was quoted: “From the audit carried out on the 2019 Federal Government Consolidated Financial Statement, unsubstantiated balances amounting to N4.97tn were observed. The N4.97tn unsubstantiated balances are above the materiality level of N89.34bn set for the audit. In auditing, materiality means not just a quantified amount but also the effect that amount will have in various contexts. During the auditing planning process, the auditor decides what the level of materiality will be, taking into account the entirety of the financial statements to be audited.”

The web of corruption has entangled the Country so tightly that breaking off the entanglements has become a salvaging cry that is non negotiable for change in narratives. It is indisputable that the Country has drifted far from the radar of development course, as the prevailing system of rots which gives exploitable gaps of corruption has eaten too deep on the fabrics which are propellants of development. The weakening of these parameters have exposed the Country to ravages with symptoms of socio-economic and political collapse. It is saddening that the firmness of structures to fight against these cankerworms appear not to be existing, or in cases where they may reflect some existence, their capabilities and sincerity are largely questionable.

In his submission on Wednesday, the Auditor-General had lamented that his office remained incapacitated from optimal functionality, particularly relating to detection of mismanagement of public funds by the MDAs. In his lamentation, he had decried that his office has been handicapped owing to various factors crippling its operations, and as a result an atmosphere for all forms of financial infractions across the various MDAs to thrive.

“One of such problems is the absence of Federal Audit Service Law, which is a big challenge as far as effective and efficient public sector auditing are concerned. This is a law that is needed as basis of fiscal sustainability. Another problem incapacitating optimal functionality of our mandate, as far as thorough and appropriate auditing of financial statements of the MDAs are concerned, is gross underfunding which is telling much on our efficiency. Accommodation is also part of the problem as our staff in Lagos are about to be evicted from their office due to litigations. These are aside problem of insecurity seriously affecting our scope of coverage,” he was quoted.

It is lamentable that misplacement of priorities have been a major bane in the governance of the Country. It is observable that political will to exterminate the claws of corruption in the Country do not exist, and where it does, it is stiffening for breath and hence, lacks the vigour to drive the quest. It is evident that where a significant structure meant to be at the edge of auditing the fiscal operations of the Country is underfunded in a country ridden with corruption of variant financial misappropriation, laundering and  diversion. The reflection is nothing but an evident absence of political will to end the tale of corruption in the Country.

The absence of such legal instruments as a Federal Audit Service Law, to constitute structures to drive fiscal sustainability in the Federation, is a further justification of the questionable posture of the  custodians of political institutions  to eliminate the web of corruption in the Country. The posture of the National Assembly to probes, majority of which have not resulted into conclusive outcomes of prosecution to serve as deterrents to mischievous public officers, remains questionable. The sincerity of such probes therefore, pose questions over the foundational orientation informing them.

The ravages of political infidelity with the finances of the Federation over the years, have reduced the Country to the mercy of gross underdevelopment where growth and development have become stunted. The stragulating grip of mishandling of public funds for personal aggrandizement have left storms behind with waves of disturbances which are becoming deep seated, with possible explosion that may portend irreparable damages that would leave no sacred cow spared.

The signals of anarchy manifesting as a result of neglects, insensitivity, and inertia to the woes of a rotten system allowing corruption to thrive have become more pronounced. It is only rational for the custodians of political institutions at the echelons of authorities from the Executive to the Legislative arms in the Federation to swing swiftly to action with the force of urgency to redress, by metamorphic instruments, the deficiencies of the structural compositions of public offices which the prevailing lacunas of the system have permitted to prevail. Crafting legal instruments to institutionalise well defined structures to bring to book merchants of public offices hell bent on the mischief of merchandising public resources for personal benefits remains sacrosanct.