Reps Query Accountant-general Over 25% Of N6bn SEC Revenue

House of Representatives on yesterday queried the Office of Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) for failing to provide evidence of 25 percent of the N6 billion internal revenue generated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for fiscal 2020.

The lawmakers expressed the concerns during an interactive session with the director-general of SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, on the review of the 2020 to 2022 budget defence and 2023-2025 Medium term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Policy Paper (FPP).

The chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Hon Abiodun James Faleke had requested for AGF’s evidence of the N738 million representing the 25 percent of the SEC revenue in 2020, saying: “where is it in your record? I want to see your record, not their own record. If you are referring me to their record then you are not supposed to be here.”

The AGF, in his response, said: “We have their record but not here but the receipts are issued by us so we can confirm it. Because they are not part of the schedule we are supposed to have today.”

He however reversed himself, saying the AGF delegation did not know that SEC was part of the agencies that would appear before the House Committee on Finance.

In his intervention, the deputy chairman, House Committee on Finance, Hon. Saidu Abdullahi said, “OAGF you’re supposed to know, this was actually in the news and you’ve been part of us since we started this session. If you looked at our newspaper advert you will see that SEC is actually supposed to appear today, so you are supposed to know.”

Piqued by the development, Faleke said, “Accountant-general honestly, are you happy with your job, are you satisfied that you are doing the right thing and you are presenting the necessary information to Nigerians through this committee?”

While responding, the leader of the OAGF delegation who answered in affirmative said, “We are happy to be part of the committee.”

In a swift reaction, Faleke said, “It’s rather unfortunate honestly. At least, I can see the laptop in front of my brother, it’s no longer manual.”