The House of Representatives yesterday urged President Bola Tinubu that the country cannot afford to have a director or any official with whatever designation act as Auditor-General of the Federation, considering the importance of the office.
The Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, stated this at the unveiling of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the 10th House in Abuja, where he urged the president to confirm the person acting or appoint anyone to the office.
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A director, Andrew Ogochukwu Onwudili, has been overseeing the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation since September 2022, with calls from several quarters for him or another person to be appointed substantively to no avail.
Abbas, who was represented by his deputy, Benjamin Kalu, said the appointment of the auditor general of the federation should be in place because it is a requirement of the Constitution.
“I am joining my voice to that of my brother, the chairman of PAC; we cannot afford to have an acting director or whatever nomenclature occupying that important position of Auditor General.
“We urge Mr. President to look into confirming the person who is there or anybody of his choice to take up the role of Auditor-General of this country; it will send the right signal that this government is ready to pursue taxes,” he said.
Kalu also said at least one percent of the total budget of the federation should be allocated to the Office of Auditor-General, stressing that that is what the office needs if it must do its 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 the 900 MDAs to be well over-sighted,” he emphasized.
In his remarks, PAC chairman Salam (PDP, Osun) said the committee is ready to hit the ground running with the vision to deliver on its mandate as enshrined in the 1999 constitution.
He said the mission is to ensure that the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of government are able to appropriately utilize the funds available in their coffers.
On his part, the acting Auditor-General, Onwudili, called on the 10th House to match its legislative agenda with financial oversight, scrutiny, and accountability.
“I have no doubt in my mind that you will match the legislative agenda of the 10th Assembly with the financial oversight, scrutiny, and accountability that the Public Accounts Committee stands for,” he said.
Earlier, the coordinator of a civil society, the Africa Development Study Center, Ambassador Victor Walsh, expressed willingness to support PAC in redefining the fiscal responsibility policy in order to curb corruption and promote transparency and accountability for good governance.
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