AGF seeks federal pay officers’ cooperation to check rules circumvention

The Accountant General of the Federation, Dr Oluwatoyin Madein, has tasked federal pay officers (FPOs) to monitor and ensure that ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in their states do not operate accounts with the commercial banks or circumvent the provision of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy.

She explained that due approval must be given by the President and communicated by the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) based on certain rules and guidelines before MDAs can operate accounts with commercial banks.

The AGF gave the charge during a working visit to the Federal Pay Office in Benin, Edo state, in continuation of her tour of the offices in the country. The Accountant-General of the Federation’s tour was to enable her to have a first-hand assessment of the operations and challenges of the federal pay offices in the country.

She urged the FPOs to entrench transparency, dedication and professionalism in the conduct of their official duties and also mandated them to ensure that MDAs in the states comply with the provisions of the public financial management reform initiatives of the Federal Government.

Madein noted that as the representatives of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), FPOs should live up to expectations, conduct their activities with utmost dedication and shun all acts that would impact negatively the image of the Federal Treasury.

She reiterated the need for the FPOs to always maintain correct, presentable and acceptable records in line with approved standards.

“No matter how good you are, if your record does not show this, it would be difficult to judge that you are efficient,” she said, adding: “Make sure that your records are correct at all times, that they are presentable and that they meet the required standard.” She said officials from the Treasury Headquarters will continue to visit the federal pay offices to monitor their records.