CSO Urges NASS, OAuGF, Others To Accelerate Passage Of Audit Bill

Civil Society Coalition on Audit in Nigeria (CSCAN) has appealed to all stakeholders in National Assembly, the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (OAuGF), civil societies and media organisations involved in the process of enacting a new audit law for Nigeria to make relevant and necessary compromises in accelerating the process.

The coalition said a Federal Audit Law when passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the president will strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to mobilize revenue internally rather than over-reliance on debt facilities and accelerate efficiency of public expenditure as against visible waste of public resources in some federal agencies.

It made the appeal in a communique issued at the end of Stakeholders’ Dialogue on the State of Public Audit and Accountability in Nigeria signed by the executive director of PLSI, Segun Elemo, in Abuja yesterday and made available to LEADERSHIP.

CSCAN is a coalition of civil society and media executives advancing accountability through ensuring the effectiveness of the audit process in Nigeria.

The coalition held a stakeholders’ dialogue to review the current state of public audit and accountability in Nigeria on Friday 23rd September 2022.

The communique also stressed the need for Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly to publish recommendations and resolutions on previous reports of the auditor-general.

The communique reads in part: “That the auditor-general publish timeously his reports to enhance civic and media engagements.

“That civil society and media actors engage more in the audit process and improve on their use of audit data advocacy and media reporting.

“The Coalition expressed disappointment at the way key stakeholders have so far handled the financial, operational, and administrative independence of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation being the foremost accountability institution in Nigeria.

“The Coalition also emphasised on the need for the Committees on Public Accounts at the National Assembly to ensure they publish their recommendations and resolutions on reports of the auditor-general for the Federation that have been conclusively reviewed. This will indeed enhance recovery of funds not accounted for by public officials and deter future abusers of financial regulations, procurement law and treasury circulars.

“The coalition further noted the sum of N617billion and N455billion were not accounted for in the 2018 and 2019 audit reports on the accounts of the federal government.