The Auditor-General of the Federation (AuGF), Shaakaa Kanyitor Chira, has rated the audit initiatives being undertaken by his office, the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of Nigeria, to enhance the public finance system as successful in achieving the desired results in terms of improving transparency and accountability at all levels of public governance.
The AuGF made this remark on Tuesday during his interactive session with journalists at the sidelines of a public event to commemorate Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary. He maintained that through an innovative approach, modern technological deployment, human capital capacity building and commitment to best global standards in auditing, the office had, over the past few years, aligned the public finance system audit processes with global best practice.
Specifically, he listed some of the major public audit transformational initiatives by his office and the results achieved, to include improved Implementation Rate of Audit Recommendations, Improvements in Financial Management Practices, strengthened legislative oversight, public and stakeholder engagement, enhanced transparency in high-risk sectors and improved feedback and independent assessments.
“In essence, the impact of our audit reports is evident not only in improved financial compliance but also in the broader culture of accountability, transparency and fiscal prudence they are helping to entrench in Nigeria’s public sector,” he said.
According to him, the office has been able to achieve these results through collaboration with other relevant government agencies, the National Assembly and international organisations.
Chira explained that with the EFCC and ICPC, his Office had strengthened the accountability chain by sharing audit intelligence that has facilitated investigations, prosecutions, and recovery of misappropriated funds by many agencies.
the engagement with the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committees has improved the timeliness and depth of legislative oversight, while the partnership with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), has helped the office in advancing due process in public procurement audits, reducing loopholes for financial misconduct.
On collaboration with international organisations, he disclosed that the partnership with AFROSAI-E and INTOSAI had benefitted the OAuGF in terms of peer reviews, technical assistance and adoption of international best practices, which have strengthened the quality and credibility of our audits.
The Auditor-General further clarified that the office’s cooperation with development partners such as the World Bank and donor agencies had provided capacity-building support, enabling it to integrate advanced audit methodologies such as performance and IT audits, as well as drive reforms in public sector financial management, improve compliance with IPSAS and enhance Nigeria’s global standing in accountability and transparency indices.
However, Chira lamented that despite the improved performance of his Office, the most significant challenges being faced by the Office in ensuring compliance with financial regulations and standards were still being faced in the MDAs.
He grouped these into four broad categories, namely capacity and awareness gaps, the use of outdated and fragmented financial systems, weak internal control and oversight structures, limited enforcement of sanctions and resistance to change and institutional bottlenecks.
He maintained that despite these challenges, his “office continues to close the gaps by intensifying capacity-building, leveraging digital audit tools, working closely with the National Assembly to enforce sanctions and engaging MDAs through proactive audits and compliance reviews.
“In this way, we are not only highlighting the problems but also driving systemic reforms to ensure that financial regulations and standards are more consistently observed across government.”
