Reps want autonomy for Auditor General

The House of Representatives, on Thursday called for administrative and financial autonomy for the office of the Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF) in view of the importance and sensitive nature of the functions of its office in entrenching probity in public accounts. Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, Hon Busayo Oluwole Oke, […]

The House of Representatives, on Thursday called for administrative and financial autonomy for the office of the Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF) in view of the importance and sensitive nature of the functions of its office in entrenching probity in public accounts.

Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, Hon Busayo Oluwole Oke, who said this during the 2022 budget defense of the AuGF, said, caging its operations through financial and administrative control erodes accountability in public accounts.

He cited instances such as when from the Auditor General’s Report, it was established that between 2013 and 2020, a sum of N7 trillion was expended from the service wide vote on the OAuGF, parastatals and agencies under it, without the Office of the Auditor General feeling any impact or having any knowledge of such expenditure.

The lawmaker noted that such infraction on the part of the executive arm of government that controls the vote would have been followed to its logical conclusion if the OAuGF had been autonomous in every aspect.

He advised the OAuGF to embark on intensive lobby to affect an increase in its annual budgetary allocations and assured that the committee will laisse with the House leadership with a view placing the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation on the First Line Charge in budgetary funding

Earlier, the Auditor-General of the Federation Mr Adolphus Aghughu had announced a proposed budget of N9.64 billion for the year 2022.