I am tempted to suggest that the Society of Women Accountants of Nigeria should come to the rescue of the Auditor-General of the Federation [AGF] who has been having a running battle with the National Assembly on one hand and with MDA (Ministries, Departments and Agencies).
Here is a random selection of the queries raised by the Auditor-General of the Federation.
“There are several anti-corruption policies, programmes, and agencies in Nigeria. Some of the institutions established to combat corruption are the Nigeria Police, Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal, court, Independent Corrupt Practices, and other related offenses Commission, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and Financial Action Task Force. Others include Nigeria’s Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Bureau of Public Procurement, Office of Attorney General and Minister for Justice, and the Accountant General and Auditor General of the Federation.
At the legal and policy levels, we have the following: Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty Agreements; extradition treaties for corrupt persons; electoral laws against vote-buying and selling; whistle-blower policy; and the Treasury Single Account. Using technology, Nigeria is fighting corruption with the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System and Bank Verification Number while there is also a campaign against vote-buying and selling as well as a media campaign against bribery and corruption.
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The Auditor-General for the Federation, Adolphus Aghughu, last week, blew the whistle on corruption when he said that the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of the Federal Government failed to account for a total sum of N4.97tn in 2019. Aghughu said the MDAs failed to substantiate the sum after an audit of their financial statements. He made this known while laying the 2019 audit report to the National Assembly. While many of us might have heard of the office, many do not know precisely what it does or is meant to do.
In case you missed it, the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation is a separate and independent entity whose existence, powers, duties, and responsibilities are provided for under Section 85 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. Section 85(2) of the Constitution provides that the Public Accounts of the Federation and of all offices and courts of the federation shall be audited and reported on by the Auditor-General who shall submit his report to the National Assembly. And for that purpose, the Auditor-General or any person authorised by him in that regard shall have access to all the books, records, returns, and other documents relating to those accounts.
Similarly, Section 85(4) of the Constitution stipulates that the Auditor-General shall have the power to conduct periodic checks on all government statutory corporations, commissions, authorities, agencies, including all persons and bodies established by an Act of the National Assembly. Furthermore, Section 301 vests the Auditor-General of the Federation with the power to audit the account of Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory. Section 85(6) of the 1999 Constitution states that “in the exercise of his function under the Constitution, the Auditor-General shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other authority or person”.
In accordance with Section 85(5) of the 1999 Constitution, the Auditor-General shall, within 90 days of receipt of the Accountant General’s financial statement, submit his report to each House of the National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives); and each House shall cause the report to be considered by a committee of the House of the National Assembly responsible for Public Accounts. The main function of the Public Accounts Committees is to review whether public money was spent or not for the approved purpose and with due regard to efficiency, economy, and effectiveness. Much of its work is based on the Auditor-General’s report. The committees hold public sittings to review audit findings. These public sittings are usually attended by the Auditor-General and his team as well as the Accounting Officer (Permanent Secretary) of the audited ministry or office. The ministry or office is expected to defend itself on issue(s) reported on and explain what they have done in respect to the report.
