The Federal Government has urged all state governments to ensure judicious and accountable utilisation of the matching grant disbursed to them for implementation of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBE).
The Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr Hamid Bobboyi, disclosed this in Abuja on Monday at a six-day training for Accountants and Auditors of UBEC and the State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs).
Bobboyi frowned at situations where state officials mount unnecessary pressure on financial officers, urging the officers in SUBEBs to resist pressure from any quarters to commit infractions and compromise standards.
He said the purpose of the training was to familiarise participants with the newly reviewed accounting manual.
He added that it was also to provide a comprehensive understanding of financial infractions and sanctions, noting such knowledge was crucial to ensuring successful service delivery in basic education.
“Given the mandates of UBEC and SUBEBs in implementing the UBE programme, it is imperative that we strengthen our accounting system to ensure judicious utilisation of government investment in the sector.
“As such, it becomes our responsibility to be accountable to the Nigerian public regarding the management of federal government UBE Intervention Fund and its overall impact.
“To fulfill these responsibilities effectively, it is necessary to continuously enhance our institutional capacity by improving professional competence among all UBEC and SUBEB staff members,” he said.
He stressed on the need to strictly adhere to the existing rules, regulations, and guidelines intended to guide the financial transactions for accountability, transparency, and value-for-money purposes.
“As finance officers, it is your responsibility to ensure strict compliance with these government stipulations. I must stress that adhering to ethical standards is an essential part of your professional duty.
“You will not be excused if you engage or condone any wrong doings.
“And let us not forget that reports generated from UBEC’s Financial Monitoring assessments are not merely intended for internal use only.
“They can be requested by relevant agencies tasked with enforcing compliance with existing laws and regulations,” he said.
He urged the participants to take full advantage of the training programme so that on return to their respective offices they would be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills needed to bring about positive changes in accounting practices.
Earlier, Director of Finance and Accounts, UBEC, Adamu Misau, said in order to safeguard the FGN-UBE Intervention Fund, the UBEC management had developed a new sanction regime in 2022 which was approved for implementation by the Commission Governing Board.
He explained that the UBEC management had to delay the implementation until all the financial managers of Basic Education Fund were trained.
He therefore said the training programme was apt with regards to knowledge on financial regulations, guidelines and due process in the accessing, utilizing, accounting and reporting of the funds.