…..insist on appointment of substantive OAuGF, move to enact bill on establishment of public account tribunal

In a bid to ensure accountability, the House of Representatives has expressed readiness to increase the budgetary allocation to the office of the Auditor General of the Federation (OAuGF) to over N200 billion.

The Deputy Speaker, Mr Benjamin Kalu, made this known during the unveiling ceremony of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts (PAC) held at the Reiz Continental Hotel in Abuja.

Kalu explained that the planned increment from N5 billion to N200 billion was aimed at repositioning the OAuGF to live up to its constitutional obligation of oversight on over 900 ministries, department and agencies (MDAs) of government.

The Deputy Speaker remarked that there was no way the OAuGF under the present circumstances can effectively look into the books of the MDAs with expenditure profile of N21 trillion with a meagre N5 billion yearly budgetary allocation.

Kalu, who reiterated the House’s resolve to uphold the principles of accountability and transparency in the management of public funds, argued that with improved funding, the office of the auditor general of the Federation would be well staffed and equipped with up to date technological equipment to discharge its duties effectively.

He noted: “The National Assembly is interested and committed to the office of the Auditor general. What’s adequate for that job to be done, fully well, is at least one percent of the total budget of the federal republic of Nigeria.

” That’s what that office needs if they must do the job and do it very well. We are committed as people with the power of the purse to review the budget of the Auditor general office, unless we don’t want about the 900 MDAs to be well over-sighted.

“Most of these MDAs were not touched, and the issue is due to lack of adequate resources for the auditor general’s office to get the job done.

“We should not make them magicians; we should equip them to sufficiently to pursue the money of Nigeria so that the work of the National Assembly will be easier.

“The introduction of technology will help us become more transparent to document better and make the results coming out from our exercise more credible. The oversight function is going to make use of technology. So in no distant time, expect the launching and unveiling of what we call NASS Eyes.

“To do this also, the collaboration of the executive cannot be overstated, though we are three arms of government, we are one government pursuing one national objective. Objective of the renewed hope where revenues will be increased and leakages blocked.”

The Deputy Speaker who expressed optimism that the Nigeria Audit service Bill recently passed by the House of Representatives would be assented by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu disclosed that the House would soon enact a Bill aimed at establishing the Public Account Implementation tribunal.

Calling on President Tinubu to appoint a substantive Auditor General of the Federation, he argued that the idea behind the establishment of the tribunal is to ensure that MDAs found wanting of breaching the law are held accountable for their misdeeds.