William Smart Inyang, (M.Sc, ACA), 1 Department of Accounting, University of Calabar, P.M.B.
1115, Calabar, Cross River State. Email: wismarti@gmail.com
Dr. Sunday A. Effiong, (PhD, ACA), 2 Department of Accounting, University of Calabar, P.M.B.
1115, Calabar, Cross River State. Email: drsunnyeffi@yahoo.com
Dr. Charles Effiong, (PhD, FIPMD), 3 Department of Business Management, University of Calabar,
P.M.B. 1115, Calabar, Cross River State. Email: charly4free@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT
This paper examines the use of the service-wide-vote (Nigeria’s contingency budget) for national
developmental purposes. Documentary pieces of evidence have shown that the Federal government
of Nigeria through its MDAs has grossly short-changed Nigerians through the year-in-year-out
mismanagement of the service-wide-vote. The objective of this paper is therefore, to evaluate the
extent to which Federal MDAs in Nigeria have been able to use the service-wide-vote to achieve
national developmental objectives. To what extent has the service-wide-vote been used to develop
the Nigerian Nation? In order to provide an answer to the foregoing question, scholarly journals and
reputable online and library sources were used to obtain research materials. The study revealed that
federal MDAs and even the EFCC abused the service-wide-vote to the tune of over N4.17 trillion
between 2004 and 2018 due to non-compliance with rules governing the use of the vote and this made
it difficult for the national developmental objectives of the vote to be achieved. The following
recommendations were therefore, suggested by the paper: allocation of 5 percent of the annual budget to service-wide-vote, regular replenishment of releases from the service-wide-vote, obtaining
approval from the National Assembly before releasing fund from the vote, roll over of unspent funds,
prosecution of corrupt MDA officials and avoiding those sharp practices that will make the use of
the service-wide-vote ineffective in achieving national developmental objectives.
Key Words: Federal MDAs, National Development and Service-wide-vote

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