The president, Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN), Dr. Iliyasu Gashinbaki, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to quickly assent to the Federal Audit Service Bill passed by the 9th Assembly.
This is pursuant to section 85 of the Constitution that empowers the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation to audit Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Gashinbaki who made this call at the 7th direct membership graduation ceremony in Abuja, recently, explained that the pre-independence audit law known as “The Audit Ordinance Act of 1956” and The Public Accounts Committee Act, CAP P35, LFN 2004,” as amended, did not give the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation enough leverage to function optimally.
”The Bill, once assented to, will empower the Auditor-General to carry out audits of all revenues accruing to the federation, expenditures of the federation from all sources, donations, grants and loans accruable to the MDAs or other public entities,” the CIFCFIN boss stated.
According to him, the Federal Service Audit Bill is very crucial to the prevention of misappropriation of public funds and to the fight against corruption.
“The Audit bill will bring accountability and probity in the finances of the government and the fight against corruption. This will go a long way in ensuring the independence of the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation,” he averred.
Also speaking at the ceremony, the chairman, Economic and Financial Commission (EFCC), Abdulrashhed Bawa, who was represented Gideon Dabi, congratulated CIFCFIN on the signing of its charter into law by Mr. President on 23rd December, 2023. He said the event afforded the commission the opportunity of engaging with relevant stakeholders in a much-needed conversation to raise an army of very diligent and dedicated men and women who would be in the field to join hands with EFCC and others who have the statutory mandate of investigating and prosecuting fraud and fraud related activities in Nigeria.
“Indeed, Section 6 of the EFCC Act, 2004, promotes the kind of collaboration we are having today,” Bawa said.
In his remarks, former chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Suleyman Ndanusa expressed his happiness that CIFCFIN is in partnership with some of the key financial crime fighting agencies in Nigeria: the EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC and the Nigeria Police.
“Coming from the financial sector, I know and wish this Chartered Institute had come 50years ago because the experiences of regulators like me at SEC, and of course, also as the Managing Director of a bank, I required an eagle eye to see things which an ordinary eye of the internal audit or auditors may not all see. So, in my sector, we definitely need people like you just like I know that other sectors will need you.”
