…says Cash Payment Plan drawn on daily, monthly basis
The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has said her ministry and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) have continued to adhere strictly with the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) in the management of the nation’s public finance.
Adeosun, in a statement issued by her Special Adviser on Media, Oluyinka Akintunde, refuted a report by an online publication which alleged that the ministry and the OAGF neither adhere to the Fiscal Responsibility Act in public finance management nor have annual cash plan for every financial year for the purpose of implementing yearly budgets.
While describing the publication as untrue, the media aide insisted that the ministry and the OAGF always complied with the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) as required by Section 22 of the FRA in the implementation of federal budgets.
The statement clarified further: “The OAGF has always prepared a cash plan for payment on a daily and month basis as well as revised it periodically. Both cash payment plan and revised plan are presented to the Cash Management Committee presided over by the Minister of Finance.
“Members of the Cash Management Committee include: the Honourable Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Accountant General of the Federation, Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Director-General of the Debt Management Office, Director of Cash Management Department in the Federal Ministry of Finance, a representative of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and some support staff from the Ministry, OAGF and Budget Office.
“The Honourable Minister further wishes to elucidate that the Federal Government’s cash payment platform, the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), makes it mandatory that a cash plan must be in place. This implies that the cash plan must be prepared, reviewed and finalized on the GIFMIS before any disbursement could be made whether personnel, overheads or capital expenditure related”, Akintunde added.
He also insisted that the decisions on disbursement to projects were also taken and approved by the Cash Management Committee.
