A cross-section of stakeholders attending a one-day Office of the Auditor General for the Federation (OAUGF) Stakeholders’ Engagement Workshop has called on the National Assembly, particularly the Senate, to speedily pass the Audit Service Bill, which has been pending at the assembly for years.

They said Nigeria is the only country in Africa that does not have an Audit law, a situation they said has been impeding the work of the Auditor General for the Federation.

The workshop, which took place yesterday in Abuja, was organised by the OAUGF to feel the pulse and get inputs from its stakeholders including, members of the parliament, the executive, the judiciary, employees, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), security agencies development partners, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), among others.

Speaking on the Audit Service Bill, Deputy Chairman, the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives, Dr Jeremiah Umoru, said the only thing that can guarantee the independence of the OAUGF is a substantive audit law, which currently does not exist.

He said the House of Representatives has passed the Bill, but it is waiting for the Senate to also pass it. On his part, a former Auditor-General for the Federation, Dr Samuel Ukura, who served between 2010 and 2016, said this bill has been in the National Assembly since 1999 and wondered why it has remained unpassed to date.

He said the 1956 audit ordinance, which Nigeria is relying on, is not in the Nigerian Constitution and does not form an audit law. He said that OAUGF needs to have financial independence, which will help it to do its work without compromise.

Ukura called on the Senate to make the passage of the bill a priority to support the anti-corruption crusade of the present administration. Earlier in his welcome address, the Auditor General for the Federation, Shaakaa Chira, said that as the foremost anti-corruption institution in Nigeria, the OAuGF can only succeed in holding public officials accountable by working effectively with its strategic stakeholders.

He noted that it is imperative to regularly engage with the stakeholders and feel their pulse on their expectations, perception and gaps in deliverables. “The views expressed during this session can help reshape the thinking within the hierarchy of the OAuGF,” he said.

The AuGF said that goal one of the OAuGF Strategic Plan: 2024 – 2028, is “Enhanced independence and mandate of OAuGF.
“To achieve this goal, which will ultimately pave the way for the Office to attain its full potential, the support of stakeholders becomes imperative.”

He also said that closely related to the first goal is the aspiration of being a Model Institution, which can only be achieved through strategic stakeholders’ engagement.