How N424bn miscalculation eluded discovery in 2023 budget – Finance Ministry

The N424 billion that was purportedly included in the 2023 budgets for the Ministries of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, as well as the Ministries of Defense and Power, was a tabulation mistake, according to the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning.

However, the ministry insisted that the data were accurate and properly authorized by all pertinent authorities.

The Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning’s special adviser on media and communications, Yunusa Abdullahi, stated in a statement that there were possibilities to identify the issue and fix it, but that not all the concerned departments and agencies took advantage of them.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Umar Farouq, told the National Assembly last week that she didn’t know how the figures entered her ministry’s budget, a statement that alarmed the legislators. The Ministry of Finance was responding to allegations over alleged budget padding insinuating that the Finance Ministry inserted the amounts in the budgets of the Ministries of Humanitarian Affairs and Defence.

In a statement titled “Where The Allegation Goes Wrong In Project NSSNP-SU Budget,” Abdullahi addressed the allegations, saying: “The story in a national daily alleging budget padding entitled “Finance Ministry on the spot over N424 billion “padding” is false and misleading because the said insertions allocated to the said items and sources in the budget proposal are also unfounded.

The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development headquarters are where the project in question is located.

The National Social Safety Net-Scale Up project is funded by the World Bank to the tune of $473,500,000, or N206,242,395,000 using the N435.57/USD exchange rate.

The project was accurately represented in the International Economic Relations Department’s (IERD) budget request for 2023.

But sadly, the Government Integrated Financial Management Information (GIFMIS) Budget Preparation System incorrectly recorded the project as a “Purchase of Security Equipment” since the incorrect code from the drop-down option was chosen (BPS).

“Please be aware that the BPS only offers a small selection of programme/project details that are encoded.

Also, keep in mind that multilateral loans typically have unique budget system codes and are related to specific projects.
Different from the envelopes often handed to ministries, departments, and agencies are the multilateral loans (MDAs).

According to the terms of the agreements, the beneficiary Ministries draw funds, and the financial institutions then pay service providers directly.

There were numerous opportunities to review the details for ministry observations and corrections made by the Federation’s Budget Office.

The proposed 2023 budget for each Ministry was distributed for review and feedback before being reviewed by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) before being submitted to the National Assembly of States for approval by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Abdullahi added, “This administration has undeniably been highly committed to budget transparency, having undertaken various reforms in the public finance management space that have resulted in significant recorded improvements.” to emphasize the integrity of the budgetary system.