Abuja – The Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation has appealed to the National Assembly to pass the Audit bill into law to aid the fight against corruption in the public sector.
The Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr Samuel Ukura, made the call in Abuja on Wednesday at a retreat involving his office and the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly.
Ukura said there was need to amend the Audit Law made over 55 years ago and which could no longer meet the needs of the time.
He said the bill was still pending in the National Assembly and added that a new law would ensure financial and administrative independence for the Office of the Auditor-General.
“To improve the quality of public governance in Nigeria, we need effective synergy between the work of my office and that of the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly.
“Since the return of parliamentary democracy in 1999, my office has submitted 14 annual audit reports to the National Assembly and none of it has seen the light of day.
“This needs to change because the opportunity for the executives to implement the report will not arise if it is not passed at the two chambers of the National Assembly,’’ he said.
He urged the Public Accounts Committees to play their roles in ensuring accountability and good governance.
Meanwhile, the President of the Senate, Sen. Bukola Saraki, said the formation of Public Accounts Committees was to ensure that government was properly checked irrespective of who was in power.
Saraki, represented by Sen. Biodun Olokun, said the committees were usually headed by members of the opposition party so that their probe would be free from political influence.
He advised the auditor-general to probe civil servants in Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government because “no politician can steal without the help of civil servants.”
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Also, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, Rep. Kingsley Chinda, said the National Assembly needed informative and high quality audit reports to function properly.
” We, at the House, promise to do our best to make sure that the Audit Law is passed. We are prepared to work with the office of the Auditor-General if they are prepared to think outside the box.
“We also promise that the 8th Assembly will be different so whatever audit report you submit will be read and made public,” he said. (NAN)