President Muhammadu Buhari has given the nod to the establishment of an Efficiency Unit (E-UNIT) in the Federal Ministry of Finance to ensure effective management of Nigeria’s economy and reduce cost of governance.
The principal objective of the Efficiency Unit is to ensure that all government expenditure is necessary and represents the best possible value for money.
Presently, the oil-rich nation’s recurrent expenditure completely dwarfs capital expenditure by a ratio of 84/16.
This includes non-wage related overhead expenditure such as travel costs, entertainment, events, printing, IT consumables and stationeries among others.
As at September 2015, the entire capital expenditure was just 194 billion Naira while overhead expenditure was 272 billion Naira.
According to the Presidency said the scenario was considered unsustainable and at variance with the current administration’s resolve to reform the economy and reduce the cost of governance.
According to the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, the Efficiency Unit will undertake programmed reviews of all government overhead expenditure with a view to reducing wastage, promoting efficiency and ensuring quantifiable savings for the country.
“Specifically, the Efficiency Unit will work across all MDAs to identify and eliminate wasteful spending, duplication and other inefficiencies; identify best practices in procurement and financial management and share such knowledge to ensure its adoption.
Findings of the Efficiency Unit will be formally communicated accordingly and will be enforced through establishment of expenditure guidelines, undertaking follow-up reviews, spot checks and other measures that will ultimately checkmate wastages across all areas of federal government expenditure,” she said.
