Abstract
This paper examines the use of service-wide-vote (Nigeria’s contingency budget) for national development. Documentary pieces of evidence have shown that the Federal government of Nigeria through its MDAs has grossly short-changed Nigerians through the year-in-year-out mismanagement of the service-wide-vote. The objective of this study is therefore, to evaluate the extent to which Federal MDAs in Nigeria have been able to use the service-wide-vote to achieve national developmental objectives. To what extent has the service-wide-vote been used to develop the Nigerian Nation? In order to provide an answer to the foregoing question, primary sources, scholarly journals and reputable online and library sources were used to obtain research materials. The study revealed that federal MDAs and even the EFCC abused the service-wide-vote to the tune of over N4.17 trillion between 2004 and 2018 due to non-compliance with rules governing the use of the vote and this made it difficult for the national developmental objectives of the vote to be achieved. The following recommendations were therefore, suggested by the paper: allocation of 5 percent of the annual budget to service-wide-vote, regular replenishment of releases from the service-wide-vote, obtaining approval from the National Assembly before releasing funds from the vote, roll over of unspent funds, prosecution of corrupt MDA officials and avoiding those sharp practices that will make the use of the service-wide-vote ineffective in achieving national developmental objectives. Keywords: Federal MDAs, National Development and Service-wide-vote DOI : 10.7176/RJFA/10-10-06 Publication date :May 31 st 2019
Highlights
Background of the StudyThe Chairman, Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption, Chukwuka Utazi recently accused the Economic and Financial Crimes’ Commission (EFCC) boss, Ibrahim Magu of illegally spending an additional sum of N1.8 billion from the Service Wide Vote and he responded and said: “You are right
Budget abuse in Nigeria is further worsened by the fraudulent use of the service-wide-vote
Results from Secondary Research The Nigerian National Assembly recently approved a virement of N143.5 billion from a service wide vote of
Summary
Background of the StudyThe Chairman, Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption, Chukwuka Utazi recently accused the Economic and Financial Crimes’ Commission (EFCC) boss, Ibrahim Magu of illegally spending an additional sum of N1.8 billion from the Service Wide Vote and he responded and said: “You are right. Budget-related frauds alone constitute a large percentage of the 18.7 percent of the frauds committed by government entities (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Reports of January, 2014 and October, 2015 as cited in Hofmann, 2016). Budgets which are known globally as useful tools for achieving national development, have been severally abused by federal entities. In Nigeria, the abuse of budgets has become a recurring phenomenon which has defiled financial regulations, budgetary and constitutional provisions. Budget abuse in Nigeria is further worsened by the fraudulent use of the service-wide-vote (a component of the annual budget meant for emergencies and contingencies). The service wide vote is a contingency budget which is operated under Section 83 (1) and (2) of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria. Expenditures from the vote must be immediately replenished through supplementary estimates and appropriation bills
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