Senate accuses auditor-general of negligence over MDAs’ annual reports

The Senate yesterday chided the Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr. Samuel Ukura, for “gross negligence” over audited annual reports of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government from 2009 to 2014.

It also ordered Ukura to issue clearance certificates to government agencies whose annual audited reports have been cleared.

The auditor-general was rebuked by the Senate Committee on Public Accounts during a one day committee briefing with heads of MDAs on annual reports of their audited accounts from 2009 to 2014.

While the auditor general’s reports on the MDAs forwarded to the Senate indicted many of the agencies of non-submission of their annual audited reports from 2009 to 2014, the agencies claimed submission of the reports with prove of evidence.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in particular debunked the claim made in the report of the auditor- general that it did not make available its audited reports of 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 by declaring that its audited reports for the years listed, have long been submitted to the office of the auditor-general based on queries raised to that effect.

CBN Deputy-Governor (Operations), Bayo Adelabu, who represented the governor told the committee that in line with section 65 (3d) of the 1999 constitution as amended and Act of Parliament of 2007, the apex bank submits its annual reports of any previous year on February 28 of every year.

According to him, the claim made in the report of the auditor-general as regards annual report of CBN from 2010 to 2014, is false as the apex bank had submitted all the 2014 reports based on queries issued by the auditor-general’s office.

Ukura, represented by a Director in the office, Mr. Isaac Olurotimi Dada, was unable to present a credible defence when questioned by the committee.

Aside CBN, other agencies of government like the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) and others also debunked claims made by the auditor-general against them on non-submission of annual reports between 2009 and 2014.

The Senate committee chairman, Senator Andy Uba (PDP Anambra South) accused Dada of giving them unsatisfactory explanation.

Uba said: “Your boss who is fond of declaring on television or radio stations that his office had completed audited work on annual reports of the MDAs and always alleging that it is the National Assembly that is not working on such reports, is not here today for the needed harmonisation of these conflicting reports and even you that is here, is not competent going by your responses so far.”