[ad_1]
Civil society and rights teams have lambasted the Accountant Common of the Federation, commissioners of finance of the 36 states of the federation and different authorities officers for selecting to carry a workshop in the UK at a time when the financial system is experiencing a serious downturn.
The Workplace of the AGF reportedly held a workshop on Public Monetary Administration and Worldwide Public Sector Accounting Requirements in London, UK.
Findings confirmed that the workshop was held at Copthorne Tara Resort, Kensington London, from March 4 to March 9, 2024.
The workshop, titled “Public Monetary Administration and IPSAS,” introduced collectively state commissioners of finance and officers from the Workplace of the Accountant-Common of the Federation.
Over the course of 5 days, individuals engaged in discussions associated to IPSAS and its affect on accountability.
The workshop delved into different important areas equivalent to accounting and reporting in a hyperinflationary financial system, in addition to the challenges confronted in public monetary administration implementation in Nigeria. Price range implementation challenges had been additionally mentioned.
Nigeria is grappling with a persistent international trade disaster, which is worsening the challenges confronted by companies, particularly producers. This disaster has been extended, stemming from the federal government’s selections to take away petrol subsidies and permit the naira to drift.
The nation is battling with excessive inflation that has eroded the buying energy of shoppers, except for meals scarcity that has led to starvation protests in pockets of the state.
As a part of his cost-cutting technique, President Bola Tinubu just lately diminished the dimensions of his entourage and inspired his workforce to do the identical.
As a part of the UK workshop actions, individuals had the chance for a courtesy go to to the Nigerian Excessive Commissioner in London. The classes commenced every day at 10:00 am and concluded at 2:30 pm, with individuals departing for his or her respective locations on March 9, 2023.
Nonetheless, some Nigerians and rights teams have criticised the AGF and the commissioners for being insensitive to the temper of the nation, saying such a workshop ought to have been held throughout the nation to avoid wasting prices.
A human rights group, the Worldwide Society for Social Justice and Human Rights, described the journey embarked upon by the Workplace of the AGF as pointless and a waste of the nation’s monetary assets.
The Chancellor of the group, Jackson Omenazu, instructed the PUNCH on Wednesday that the choice to maneuver about 36 members of the implementation committee of the company who’re additionally commissioners of finance for the 36 states to London confirmed how insensitive the general public servants had been to the financial plight of the nation.
“That is the peak of monetary recklessness and insensitivity to the financial scenario of Nigeria at the moment. If it’s a workshop as they’ve claimed, the accountant normal can go for the workshop and are available again to copy the information right here to the opposite commissioners,” he stated.
Jackson added that the journey was completely pointless and wasteful.
He stated, “The journey is completely pointless for him to journey with the 36 commoners of finance. the price of the journey and the financial scenario Nigeria has discovered itself in at the moment, there isn’t a prudence in such a choice. We want public servants who will key into the scenario of this nation and salvage the nation.
“It’s cheaper to deliver the facilitators to Nigeria to coach the individuals trying on the excessive trade price. The accountant normal and the approving company that accredited the journey must be cautioned.”
The Chairman of the Centre for Anti-corruption and Open Management and the President, Centre for the Defence of Human Rights, Debo Adeniran, stated it was vital to know the content material of the programs the OAGF and his workforce had travelled to London to establish in the event that they had been available within the nation.
Whereas he didn’t chide the accountant normal for the journey, he famous that the accountant normal ought to have embraced a less expensive choice of ‘coaching the trainers’ the place if mandatory solely few principal officers of the company would journey for the coaching and return to coach others.
“Figuring out whether or not the journey was frivolous will depend on the supply and accessibility of the programs they travelled for in Nigeria. The world is a world village and we need to know if the course could be readily assessed on-line right here within the nation. Nonetheless, to avoid wasting the price of international trade wanted to journey to London, it will have been cheaper to go for ‘coaching of the trainers’ relying on the establishment’s mobility,” he stated
Nonetheless, the Director of Press on the Workplace of the AGF, Bawa Mokwa, defended the journey, explaining the rationale behind internet hosting the workshop in the UK.
In a dialog with The PUNCH on Wednesday, he emphasised that the workshop was an annual occasion held usually.
In line with him, the occasion was held in London as a result of the facilitators are primarily based within the UK.
He additionally said that the occasion was accredited by the Nationwide Financial Council.
“It’s an annual occasion. The OAGF members current on the assembly are sub-committees of Federal Allocation Account Committee. Members of the implementation committee are commissioners of finance of the 36 states,” he stated.
“They often go to the UK to do it yearly as a result of the useful resource individuals are resident within the UK they usually implement it to the letter,” he added.
Additionally, an economist at Lotus Beta Analytics, Shedrach Israel, stated it was not economically sensible to spend the nation’s scarce foreign exchange on such travels, noting that the AGF ought to have both opted for a digital research for the workforce.
“The federal government has stated it is going to minimize down value of governance however what has occurred is opposite to the initiative of decreasing the price of governance. We live in a digital world. Do individuals need to journey to workshops? they don’t must essentially journey to be skilled.
“The issue with most of our authorities companies is that they finances extra for recurrent expenditure as an alternative of capital.
“It’s not economically sensible to move such a excessive variety of individuals to London to-and-fro trying on the excessive trade price. We should do all we are able to to make the naira enhance its worth,” he stated.
[ad_2]
Source link