FG moves to Curb Revenue Leakages in State owned Enterprises

The federal government has identified state owned enterprises (SOEs) as key risk areas that continue to record revenue leakages as a result of loose frameworks.

Minister of finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, who revealed this, said the Auditor general of the federation was working on a new template for allowable expenses and disclosures in a draft audit report currently being formulated.
In her opening remark at the workshop on Cost Management for officers of federal MDAs and their counterparts in the 36 States of the Federation in Abuja on Thursday, Adeosun said, “SOEs are a key risk areas and we have a draft audit report as sample for them…funds are leaking through loose framework.”
Mrs Adeosun also called on civil servants at the top echelon of the federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to be more prudent in the management of public resources for greater output in public interest.
She reminded the participants (mostly accountants) that they are accountable for how public funds are spent, adding that the federal government is building systems to ensure that they are held accountable for whatsoever that is put in their care.
The workshop was designed to give the participants an overview of cost management and to share some practical examples on how governments at all levels can weather through the adverse effects of the current economic crisis in the country.
“Eliminating waste is a national duty for every public officer and Change begins with you and me,” Adeosun said, calling on the participants to “be your own auditor, be circumspect, be curious, ask about new files…is there something in the old file being concealed? The files should be minimised. Treat public money as if it were your own money, squeeze the toothpaste … small loses and waste adds up. Play your part.”
The minister of finance added that the federal government was targeting aggressive reduction in costs so that it can do more with the same funds, increasing value for money, improving work conditions, increasing efficiency.
Also speaking at the event, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Ekanem Oyo-Ita urged the public officers to reduce the cost of government whilst increasing its quality of service delivery to Nigeria.
Oyo-Ita said: “The onus is on all of us here as the Accounting Officers of the Federal MDAs to become innovative and deliver more by being more productive through the efficient use of resources because we must never lose sight of the fact that with efficiency we are not to do less but to do more.”
“This workshop is another veritable platform for us to continue brainstorming on the best way to manage the limited financial resources at our disposal amidst numerous responsibilities,” she added.
The programme was organised by the Efficiency Unit in the Federal Ministry of Finance, which was established in December 2015 with a mandate to correct the anomalies and wastages in government