Tinubu pledges speedy assent to Federal Audit Service Bill to stem corruption

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said he is committed to ensuring the country wins the fight against corruption. The President, who stated this on Wednesday at the official unveiling of the Office of the Auditor-General’s Strategic Plan 2024 to 2028 in Abuja, said he will do everything to support the Auditor-General, including speedy assent to the Federal Audit Service Bill now awaiting concurrence at the Senate.

President Tinubu, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, said one of the strategic goals of his administration is to ensure the independence of the office of the Auditor-General and to empower it to perform its constitutional role.

According to him, “We must win the war against corruption. I can assure you that as soon as the Federal Audit Service Bill gets to me, I will sign it to prove my determination to stamp out corruption.”

He charged the OAuGF to also reciprocate government support by supporting government efforts to reduce mismanagement of resources to improve the quality of lives of the citizens. He praised the Auditor-General for the Federation for the excellent job he has done so far and hopes he will do more.

Also speaking, the Chairman Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives, Bamidele Salam, said it is unfortunate that the OAuGF is underfunded. He called on the Federal Government to dedicate one per cent of the yearly budget to funding the Auditor-General’s office.

Salam, who pledged the House of Representatives’ continued support for the Auditor-General’s office, reiterated the need to make the office truly independent, adding that an independent Auditor-General will be in a better position to fight mismanagement of resources and ensure probity in the public service.

Earlier in his speech, the Auditor-General for the Federation, Shaakaa Chira, said the presentation of the strategic plan was a watershed in the annals of the OAuGF in terms of progress towards becoming a Supreme Audit Institution (SAI).

He said the four goals of the strategic plan include enhanced independence and mandate of OAuGF, reduced mismanagement of public funds through stronger follow-up of audit recommendations, improved financial reporting in the public sector and making OAuGF a model institution.

Chira, who called for greater government support, said: “In order to perform its functions independently and be able to support the government’s activities in creating value for the benefit of the citizens, there is need for a truly independent Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation both administratively and financially in line with international best practices and as contained in the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) principle 1.”