The House of Representatives, has urged President Bola Tinubu to urgently appoint a substantive Auditor General of the Federation, saying the office was too sensitive and important to transparency in government spending.
For a while, the office has been under control of a supervising director.
Speaking during the unveiling and training programme for members of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts (PAC) in Abuja on Monday, Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, and Chairman of the committee, Bamidele Salam made the call in separate remarks.
Represented by the Deputy Speaker, Abbas said, “The PAC is one of the most important committees of
the House and its importance is underscored by its express creation by
Section 85 (5) of the 1999 Constitution as Amended.
“This section states that “the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly shall examine the audited accounts of Government showing the appropriation of the sums granted by the House to meet the public expenditure, and any report made by the Auditor-General of the Federation concerning such accounts.
According to him, in the 10th Assembly, the PAC is committed to deepening its engagement with the Executive Arm of Government to ensure that Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government uphold the principles of accountability, transparency, and prudence in the management of public finance.
“The PAC is also committed to strengthening the office of the Auditor
General of the Federation in line with best global practices. The recent passage of the Federal Audit Bill to repeal the 1956 Audit Ordinance is
in line with this commitment…
“The work of the PAC is complemented by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation. It is in this light that the Auditor General’s Office needs to be occupied. The appointment should be in
place because it is a requirement of the Constitution”, he said.
Chairman of the PAC, Salami thanked the House leadership for the due diligence in the composition of the Committee.
The training programme was put in place by the African Development Study Centre (ADSC).
POST AUTHOR: Joshua Egbodo
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