Senate seeks immediate appointment of Auditor-General

The Senate has sought the immediate appointment of an Auditor General for the Federation in compliance with Section 86 of the 1999 Constitution.

The Red Chamber made this known in a communication to President Bola Tinubu signed by Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Aliyu Wadada.

The upper chamber expressed concern that the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation which is the apex audit institution of the country, had been without a substantive auditor-general for the last 10 months.

The letter read in part, “The absence of a substantive AuGF will affect strict adherence to Accounting Standards and the Annual Reports of the Auditor-General on the accounts of the Federation of Nigeria Agencies and Ministries, Agencies, Departments (MDAs) cannot be efficiently transmitted.

“This will impede necessary checks and balances, which are integral to the functions of the National Assemblies Committees responsible for Public Accounts.”

It added, “Therefore, it is very imperative for President Tinubu to heed our advice in the interest of the country.

“The absence of the auditor-general could affect the efforts of our government in the fight against corruption and enhancing transparency and accountability in governance.”

Wadada in the letter stated that appointing a substantive auditor-general would strengthen the federal government’s commitment to fiscal responsibilities and safeguard public trust.

It pointed out that the audit reports of 2020, 2021 and 2022 were yet to be transmitted in accordance with Section 85 (2) of the 1999 Constitution as a result of the non-appointment of an auditor general.