The new Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), has called on the staff of the Treasury to join hands with him to build a credible Treasury. The new AGF who was speaking on his assumption of duty on Monday noted the need for collective responsibility of accounting officers in achieving the objectives of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF).
He pledged not to victimise any staff of the Treasury House and enjoined all staff to work together to make the Office an institution that is well respected.
He promised to maintain the independence of the Treasury as well as shield it from undue external influence.
According to him, “I’ve been a victim of a Chief Executive calling the Accountant-General to say, I don’t like this Director of Finance and Admin (DFA), I don’t like this director. Please remove him. I’m not going to follow that path.”
He assured directors deployed to Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) that he would provide fair hearings. “I’ll give everybody that open hearing. If anybody comes to me, I’m going to call the director-in-charge. Tell your own story or whatever you know about it. Then we’ll now decide whether it’s worth it,” he said.
He also acknowledged the career implications of strained relationships with MDA heads. “Because sometimes your career may also be at stake. If your Chief Executive doesn’t want you, then there’s no point staying there. Because he or she may frustrate your functions or your life. So we amicably look for a better solution that will make your life also not miserable,” he noted.
Ogunjimi who encouraged open communication among the staff also said, “If there’s anything bothering you, disturbing you in the discharge of your functions, I’m here. Talk to me. I’m your AGF. Be free to come to me. I will listen to you. I’m a good listener. I will support you.”
He called for a unified approach within the Treasury. “We are one single family. I want that spirit to be in everybody. Whether you are a treasury officer or you are a support staff, the spirit of togetherness and oneness. Treasury is one. Whatever has happened, has happened. We have to move on. I am not in any group. We are not going to polarize the house. The task ahead is enormous. We can’t be fighting ourselves. We must achieve,” he said.
Obviously speaking to the controversies or dispute that trailed his supposed resumption in office when he was first announced as the replacement for Oluwatoyin Madein last year, Ogunjimi urged staff members to put the past behind and work for the good of Nigeria.
He told the workers that he neither belongs to any faction, noting that factionalisation of the office would be counter-productive.
“I am ready to commit myself, my life, to the service of this institution. I will not have been who I am today if not for the opportunity provided to me by this service.”
Earlier, the director of administration in the office, Dauda Abdul Hamid welcomed him to office while assuring him of the cooperation of all the directors to support his administration to succeed.