Cash Crunch Hits MDAs Over Freezing Of Accounts

Civil servants across ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) have lamented the slow pace of activities and other schedules in the discharge of their responsibilities due to the non-availability of fund following the freezing order on their accounts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Senior government and low cadre officers told Daily Trust on Sunday […]

Civil servants across ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) have lamented the slow pace of activities and other schedules in the discharge of their responsibilities due to the non-availability of fund following the freezing order on their accounts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Senior government and low cadre officers told Daily Trust on Sunday that the non-availability of funds was hampering the operation and expectation of the workers.

It was reported that the federal government had placed embargo on further payments to the MDAs of the federal government till further notice.

Officials, however, told our reporter that it was the administration of the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari that gave the order days before he handed over to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to prevent the looting of government treasury or other untoward last minute and frivolous spending.

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“I can tell you that it was the administration of former President Buhari that actually gave the directive to the CBN, and this has nothing to do with the suspended governor of the apex bank, Godwin Emefiele,” a senior government official, who pleaded anonymity, said.

It was observed that workers in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) were lamenting the cash crunch, with two of them saying that it was one of the reasons for the low key June 12 celebration and the hosting of new 21st SGF, Senator George Akume, who resumed office on June 7.

Also, senior officials in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHoCSF), told Daily Trust on Sunday that they were caught unawares as they were expecting the Tinubu administration to place the freezing order, and were shocked that it was the Buhari administration that did that for reasons they did not understand.

“We first get the information from our colleagues from the SGF, who asked us if we had such experience on non-disbursement of fund. I even told one of them that there were still mandates and schedules to be met, until two of our memos were returned with minutes on the freezing of the accounts,” another official said.

Reports have it that apart from the payment of salaries to federal workers, which is being done directly from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, every other payment or financial mandates cannot be honoured due to the embargo.

Dissolution of mgt, boards of agencies imminent

Meanwhile, there is anxiety over reports that President Tinubu has given a directive to the SGF to dissolve the management and boards of federal agencies and parastatals.

Senior government officials told Daily Trust on Sunday in confidence that the dissolution would be announced soon, as expected.

One of the officials said the area of concern for them as civil servants was the ‘umbrella mode’ to be adopted in the dissolution, including those whose tenure are guaranteed by the enabling acts of their establishment.

Senior government officials said the dissolution would cut across all the ministries, departments and agencies and affect all political appointments by the Buhari administration.

This is coming on the heels of the June 14 indefinite suspension of AbdulRasheed Bawa as the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to allow for proper investigation into his conduct while in office.

The development was also coming less than two weeks after the suspension of Emefiele on June 9.

When contacted, Mr Willie Bassey, the Director of Information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, said he was not aware of the development.

He said there were official channels of communication on such matters and he was not aware of such developments.