By Shile GIWA
The House of Representatives on Thursday received the 2010 Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Report on queries issued to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation.
Laying the three-volume report on the floor of the House at plenary presided over by Speaker Yakubu Dogara in Abuja, Chairman of PAC, Kingsley Chinda (PDP-Rivers), said the 2011 and 2012 reports would be presented in no distant time.
TBI Africa said that the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that PAC is the House committee that is charged with the responsibility of carrying out an oversight on the auditor general’s office.
The 2010 PAC Report was the first in the history of the 4th Republic of the country’s democracy the House would witness.
Chinda said the absence of reports by previous assemblies was unacceptable, and as such would not be seen as a legacy to be emulated by PAC of the the 8th assembly.
”Reports covering 2011 and 2012 would be ready for consideration before the end of the 8th assembly as a foundation for the incoming assembly to build on,” he said.
A breakdown of the report obtained by NAN showed that in 2010, the committee received and treated 966 queries brought against 142 MDAs of government.
Out of the total, 417 queries were heard and upheld with various degrees of sanctions recommended against erring MDAs.
While 406 queries were closed for satisfactory defence by affected MDAs, a total of 143 were stepped down for lack of supporting documents.
