The Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Dr.
Oluwatoyin Madein, has denied honouring the reported N585.198 million payment
request by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betty Edu.
The minister had asked the Office of the Accountant-General
of the Federation to pay the said amount to the personal account of a certain
Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola.
Dr. Edu’s request was contained in a letter referenced:
FMHAPA/HQ/S.208 and dated December 20, 2023.
Her explanation was that the payment was meant for grants to
vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom , Cross River, Ogun and Lagos States.
However, reacting to
the controversy generated by the payment request considered to be illegal, the
AGF said she did not honour the request as
it was not her responsibility to make payments for projects and
programmes on behalf of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Dr. Madein position’s was contained in a statement by the
Director of Press, Mr. Bawa Mokwa of the OAGF, in Abuja this afternoon.
She stated that allocations are released to self-accounting
MDAs in line with the budget and such MDAs are responsible for the
implementation of their projects and payments for such projects.
The AGF explained that although her Office received the said
request from the Ministry, it did not carry out the payment.
The Ministry was however advised on the appropriate steps to
take in making such payments in line with the established payment procedure.
The AGF noted that in such situations, payments are usually
processed by the affected Ministries as self-accounting entities and no bulk
payment is supposed to be made to an individual’s account in the name of
Project Accountant.
She added that such payment should be sent to the
beneficiaries through their verified bank accounts.
Dr. Madein reiterated her determination to uphold the
principles of accountability and transparency in the management of public
finances.
She advised MDAs to always ensure that the requisite steps
are taken in carrying out financial transactions.
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