The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye, SAN, has condemned the padding of budget by government officials, warning that the Commission won’t tolerate breach of government financial rules and regulations.
He pointed out that it was an aberration for Federal Medical Centres to have more staff than teaching hospitals and criticised the fraudulent practices associated with outsourcing of services which was prevalent in the hospitals. He noted that a review of the health sector undertaken by the Commission revealed that funds meant for specific projects in hospitals had been diverted to other unimportant areas.On internally generated revenue, Owasanoye told the finance directors that agencies which receive allocations from government were expected to pay 100 per cent of their IGRs into the government treasury to avoid abuse.
The Chairman of the Forum, Dr Samson Adegoke raised the issue of non-regular staff whose allowances were not captured in the budget, especially house officers and interns, and wondered how they were supposed to be taken care of.