Secrets Reporters
The management of public funds is governed by laws that prescribe how revenue is received, appropriated and spent. At the Federal University, Lafia, documents obtained by SecretsReporters show that ₦1,169,690,434.74 from the school’s Internally Generated Revenue was spent without appropriate approval, among other issues, during the year 2023 under Professor Shehu Abdul Rahman as the Vice Chancellor of the Institution
The largest finding concerns the expenditure of ₦1,169,690,434.74 from the university’s internally generated revenue (IGR) without recourse to budgetary appropriation or approval from the National Assembly. The documents show that the university generated ₦1,561,197,869.29 in internally generated revenue during the year, of which the identified amount was spent without the prescribed legislative approval.
Section 80(4) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides that money shall not be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund or any other public fund of the Federation except in the manner prescribed by the National Assembly. Additionally, Paragraph 301 of the Financial Regulations 2009 provides that an officer controlling a vote who incurs expenditure without authority shall be personally and pecuniarily responsible for it.
In its response, the university’s management argued that the laws establishing federal universities empower them to retain and spend their internally generated revenue without obtaining appropriation from the National Assembly. The management further maintained that no regulation required such expenditure to undergo the legislative approval process.
However, the response was considered unsatisfactory, and the finding remained valid pending the implementation of the recommendations. The expenditure was in violation of constitutional provisions governing public funds and the financial regulations prescribing personal responsibility for expenditure incurred without authority.
Similarly, the documents identified ₦112,838,816.00 in cash advances used specifically to circumvent standard procurement procedures. The use of cash advances to bypass the prescribed procurement process raises compliance concerns under the Public Procurement Act 2007, which establishes procedures for public procurement by federal government institutions. Paragraphs 3106 and 3115 of the Financial Regulations 2009, covering irregular payments and failure to account for public funds, were also cited in connection with the findings.
Additionally, ₦9,593,000.00 in payments was found to lack relevant supporting documents. The absence of the necessary documentation raises an accountability issue under Paragraph 3115 of the Financial Regulations 2009, which addresses failure to account for public funds. Paragraph 3106, which deals with irregular payments, also applies to the finding.
The recommendations direct the Vice-Chancellor to account for each of the identified sums to the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly, recover and remit the amounts to the Treasury, and forward evidence of the remittances to the relevant authorities.
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