In accordance with Section 86 of the 1999 Constitution, the Senate has asked for the prompt appointment of an Auditor General for the Federation.
Sen. Aliyu Wadada, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, signed a letter to President Bola Tinubu informing him of this on behalf of the Red Chamber.
The upper house raised worry over the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation’s lack of a substantive auditor-general for the past ten months, despite it being the country’s top auditing authority.
The letter stated, in part, that “the lack of a substantive AuGF will undermine strict adherence to Accounting Standards and the efficient transmission of the Auditor-General’s Annual Reports on the accounts of the Federation of Nigeria Agencies and Ministries, Agencies, and Departments (MDAs).”
This will obstruct essential checks and balances, which are essential to the duties of the National Assemblies Committees in charge of Public Accounts.
“Therefore, it is vitally important that President Tinubu accept our recommendations in the sake of the country,” it continued.
“The auditor general’s absence could have an impact on our government’s efforts to combat corruption and improve openness and accountability in governance.”
The appointment of a substantive auditor-general, according to Wadada’s letter, would increase the federal government’s commitment to fiscal accountability and preserve public trust.
It made note of the fact that the absence of an auditor general meant that the audit reports for 2020, 2021, and 2022 had not yet been transmitted in accordance with Section 85 (2) of the 1999 Constitution.
