House Grills PenCom over Non-rendition of Audited Financial Accounts

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts yesterday demanded the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Director of the Budget office to furnish it with the copies of the budget of the National Pension Commission (PenCom)) from 2013 to 2022.

The Committee Chairman, Hon. Wole Oke gave the directive when the Director General of PenCom, Aisha Umar, appeared before the lawmakers to respond to audit query issued by the Auditor General of the Federation (AUGF).

The AuGF, Adolphus Aghughu in the query had said the Commission failed to render its audited financial accounts since 2013 till date.

Addressing the lawmakers, the PenCom Director General, who was represented by Commissioner in charge of Technical, Mr. Anyim Nyerere said the Commission failed to submit its audited financial account because it did not have a board at the time under review to ratify it as required by law.

According to her, PenCom had prepared the audited accounts from 2013 to 2017, which it submitted to the Office of the Auditor General but were rejected because they had no board in place.

While noting that the SGF was in charge of the budget of the Commission during the period, she said the 2018 to 2020 budgets, by which time a board was constituted, for the Commission had been approved, but yet to be submitted.

The DG added that the 2021 and 2022 budgets were still at the draft stages and that they would be ready for submission within the next 30 days.

The Chairman of the Committee, Oke, who excused the commission for not having a board then, however lamented that government agencies such as PenCom were being allowed by the Executive arm of government to run without boards for long periods of time.

He said that it was wrong that an agency whose assets had hit N14 trillion would be managed in such a shoddy manner.

Ruling, Oke said the Committee would decide the next line of action upon the receipt of the copies of its budgets for the years under review from both the SGF and the office of the Director of Budget, June 30, 2022.