The National Agency for Control of AIDS (NACA) has been queried by the office of the Auditor General of the Federation over alleged failure to release records of Global Fund grants for audit
The query is contained in the 2016 report of Auditor General of the Federation being considered by the Senate Committee on Public Accounts chaired Senator Matthew Urhoghide.
The committee expressed its reservation over the expose made by the audit report.
Urhoghide also berated NACA for failing to include the financial activities of the Global Fund such as amounts received from the Fund and their utilization in the 2015 Financial Statements of the agency.
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.”
However, the Director of Finance and Accounts of the agency, Nsikak Ebong, told the Committee that “the global fund grants’ records are always available for review. These documents have always been made available to auditors for review on demand.”
Representative of the Auditor General of the Federation, Eyitatyo Agehsin, faulted the Director of Finance and Accounts of NACA.
He insisted that when the request was made in 2016, the NACA failed to present the documents for audit.
