Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has commenced the auditing of the remittance of statutory and non-statutory deductions from the payroll of workers from 2010 to 2022, to ensure that deductions from the payroll of workers are timely remitted to the third-party beneficiaries.
The FCT permanent secretary, Mr Olusade Adesola, while conducting the flag-off exercise in Abuja yesterday, disclosed that the auditing of the remittances of payroll deductions is in line with the FCTA’s objectives and commitment to ensure transparency, accountability and responsible financial management.
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Adesola said that the remittance of statutory deductions to be audited, include taxes, pensions and insurance, while the non-statutory deductions fall under employee contributions to cooperative societies and various welfare programmes.
According to him, the audit exercise is also being carried out to ensure that the administration’s obligations to third-party beneficiaries are met with utmost integrity.
He said remittances of payroll deductions play pivotal roles in maintaining the welfare of the FCTA workforce, lamenting that remittances for both statutory and non-statutory deductions from the payroll of workers since 2010 had faced some setbacks.
Adesola said that some of the problems created as a result of such non-remittances, include the failure by FCTA retirees to claim their National Housing (NHF) funds from the Federal Mortgage Banks, due to non-posting of the deductions as a result of discrepancies in the schedules accompanying the payment of such deductions.
He said that as a result, the FCT administration found it expedient to engage an audit consultant, M/S G.E. Osagie and Co to audit the payroll of the FCTA from 2010 to 2022 in order to establish the unremitted statutory and non-statutory deductions due as liabilities to third party beneficiaries.
In the same vein, the auditing exercise will determine the payments made to the various receivers of the statutory and non-statutory payments by staff and on behalf of each staff of the FCTA from 2010 to 2022 for NHF, FCT Health Insurance Scheme, Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and Cooperative deductions.
Additionally, the auditing exercise is to determine outstanding obligations for the FCTA to staff as well as ascertain individuals and officials responsible where deductions were not made and make recommendations as appropriate.
“The auditing of these payroll remittances signifies our unwavering dedication to a robust and meticulous financial system as it allows us to validate that the amounts deducted from our employees’ salaries are promptly remitted to the rightful beneficiaries. It is crucial to maintain the trust of both our employees and the third-party organisations that depend on these funds,” he said.
He therefore charged the auditing consultant to carry out its assignment in compliance with the terms of engagement as well as the scope and responsibility as stipulated in the contract agreement.
He also urged them to come up with recommendations that will make subsequent FCTA remittances on these statutory and non-statutory deductions seamless to the third-party beneficiaries and avoid embarrassment caused to the FCT by non-remittance of such deductions.