As Nigeria marks 66th independence Anniversary, the Paradim Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to as a matter of urgency act on the Federal Audit Service Bill and provide the country with a modern legal framework for auditing public resources.

A modern audit law according to them will strengthen Nigeria’s Supreme Audit Institution, the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committees and other accountability institutions to safeguardpublic resources and improve service delivery.

The Executive Director of PLSI Olusegun Elemo who made the call during a press briefing yesterday in Abuja to mark the 10th anniversary of the organisation said although there has being improvement in the Nigeria audit institutions, but said there are still significant gaps in public accountability.

He recalled that , in 2016 when PLSI commenced operation, the federal government implemented a N6tr budget without an audit law and ten years after, the government is implementing N68tt budget without a audit law.

He further recalled that the 2024 Federal Audit report on Non-Compliance/Internal Control Weaknesses in MDAs identified over 1.39 trillion in financial irregularities and control failures, including unsupported payments, unremitted revenues, irregular contracts and other weaknesses across federal institutions.

Elemo pointed out that the greater challenge currently is how to institutionalise public accountability that ensures Nigeria’s audit system consistently produces fiscal guardrails, recovery, consequences, reform and effective services to citizens.

He however called on State Governors, Ministries of Finance, Budget and Planning to fully implement financial autonomy for the Offices of the Auditor-General through first-line charge mechanisms, ensure timely release of funds and inaugurate Audit Service Commissions or Boards to guarantee administrative independence.
PLSI further called on the executive to mandate the timely publication of audit reports and Citizens’ Accountability Reports for state and local government accounts.

He urged State Audit Offices to move from compliance-focused audits to routine performance and value-for-money audits across key sectors, including health, education, infrastructure, gender and climate.

He also called on Public Accounts Committees to strengthen their oversight functions by ensuring the timely review of audit reports and enforcement of audit recommendations.

Elemo noted that only three out of the 36 states currently have effective Public Accounts Committees, according to the SAE Index 2025.

He harped on the need for Nigeria to move decisively from compliance auditing to performance auditing, noting that citizens experience governance through the quality of schools, hospitals, roads, water, security, jobs and other public services available to them.

It said only three subnational governments had conducted performance audits, describing the situation as a significant accountability gap in a country where state and local governments manage substantial public resources and provide critical services.

Elemo also called on federal, state and local government audit institutions to conduct and publish credible performance audits of public programmes, projects and policies.

He said citizens should be able to determine not only whether public resources were properly spent, but also whether the resources achieved the results for which they were allocated.

Ahead of the 2027 General election, PLSI Chief Executive also urged Nigerians to demand greater accountability from political candidates, saying candidates seeking public office must present citizens with costed manifestos explaining the problems they intend to address, how they plan to address them, the cost of their proposals and how the plans would be financed.

PLSI said its Electoral Accountability Tool, ÀDÉHÙN, would continue to support citizens in accessing information and examining candidates’ commitments ahead of the elections.

It also urged citizens to reject electoral violence, vote buying and selling, intimidation, disinformation and divisive politics.

Elemo called on political parties and candidates to place issues, policies and development outcomes at the centre of their campaigns, while urging institutions responsible for managing and securing elections to uphold professionalism, impartiality and the rule of law.

He said the quality of Nigeria’s democracy would depend not only on the conduct of elections but also on the quality of governance that follows them.