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Tag: Auditor-General

  • Delays, controversies over Auditor-General appointment

    Delays, controversies over Auditor-General appointment

    Almost one year after the retirement of the Auditor-General for the Federation (AGF), Adolphus Aghughu, appointing a replacement has not been possible due to acrimony among directors. The appointment of one of the directors in the interim has not gone down well with some stakeholders, who claim the process contravened public service rules, reports TONY AKOWE.

    The retirement of the immediate past Auditor-General for the Federation (AGF), Adolphus Aghughu threw up an intense competition among directors in the office for the coveted seat.

     Prior to his retirement, there have been moves to outdo one another by some of the directors with claims and counter-claims of who is senior among them who can oversee the office.

     Aghughu’s exit in September 2022 paved the way for the appointment of Andrew Onwudili to oversee the office, even though records show that he was not the most senior director; having been employed two years after three of the directors, making him the fourth in line.

     Before the emergence of Onwudili, the Federal Civil Service Commission had commenced the process for the appointment of a new Auditor-General with an in-house advertisement.

     The Nation learnt that the initial idea was to get the Auditor-General from among the directors in the agency. But one year after the process began, there appears to be a deadlock as the commission has not been able to come up with a candidate who will be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

     Section 86 sub-section 1 to 3 of the 1999 Constitution as amended provides modalities for the appointment of the AGF.

    The section states that “the Auditor-General for the Federation shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Federal Civil Service Commission subject to confirmation by the Senate. (2) The power to appoint persons to act in the office of the Auditor-General shall vest in the President and (3) except with the sanction of a resolution of the Senate, no person shall act in the office of the Auditor-General for a period exceeding six months.”

    Read Also: CSOs urge Tinubu to appoint new auditor-general

    But the process has been bogged down by controversy regarding seniority among some of the directors in the agency. While some of them have been involved in the selection process, two others have been excluded.

    The Nation observed that the struggle for the position appeared to have started long before the occupant of the office vacated it as five of the Directors started struggling for seniority despite the provisions of Public Service on seniority in the public service.

    A letter from the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation dated February 9 2021, with reference number HCSF/PSO/152/II/150 addressed to the Director of Audit overseeing the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation tried to set the records straight about seniority among the directors.

     The letter drew attention to the provisions of the Public Service Rule 020106 which states that “seniority in any department shall be determined by the entry/the assumption of duty certified by an authorised officer as reflected in the appropriate register.”

     In line with the provision, the letter which was signed by Babura in the USA, the Director in charge of Employee Mobility in the OHCSF listed the officers in accordance with their seniority level as Isiuku Julius Michael, Mrs Ogundowo Addition Oluseyi, Mrs Ugwu Ngozi Eucharia, Onwudili Ogochukwu and Gbayan Shirts Gabriel. It also stated that “with the above clarification, this matter would be laid to rest and allow for a good and harmonious working relationship devoid of rancour among the directors and other members of staff in the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation.

      The letter from the Head of Service was prompted by a letter from the Office of Auditor-General seeking intervention on the determination of seniority among the directors.

     The letter reads: “I am directed to request your kind intervention on the resolution of the seniority challenge encountered by the under-listed directors in the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation. The Human Resources Department had received complaints that they were not placed properly on the office nominal roll. Efforts to internally address the issue seem not to be satisfactory. Accordingly, it will be appreciated if the OHCSF can intervene to resolve the matter.”

     However, in another letter reference with reference number HCSF/ALSO/ODD/E&WP/64421/166 dated July 18, 2022, and signed by the Director, Organisation, Design and Development in the OHCSF, B. O. C. Omogo, the earlier list was completely turned round. The letter reads: “I am directed to refer to your letter ref no GEN/EMAD//CORR/2020/55 dated March 28, 2022, on the above subject and convey the reviewed seniority list among the five directors in your office as follows: Andrew Ogochukwu Onwudili, Shirts Gabriel Gbayan, Adeoti Oluseyi Ogundowo, Ngozi Eucharia Ugwu and Julius Michael Isiuku.

    “In arriving at the reviewed list, the parameters outlined below were taken into consideration. (a) date of present appointment; (b) career progression; (c) date of assumption of duty and (d) date of first appointment.

     “This letter, therefore, supersedes our earlier letter ref. UCSF/PSO/152/II/15 and dated February 9 2021 on the subject.”

    A look at the Public Service Rules revealed that the only criterion for determining seniority in service is the date of employment and assumption of duty.

     However, the nominal roll of the office of the Auditor-General for April 2021 sighted by The Nation revealed that while Mrs Ogundawo was first employed in the service on September 26, 1990, and confirmed two years later, the Director overseeing the Office of the Auditor-General, Andrew Onwudili was employed on July 27, 1992, and confirmed two years later. Also, another director in the OAUGF, who was excluded from the process of appointing a new Auditor-General, Mrs Eucharia Ngozi Ugwu was employed on November 11 1990 and confirmed two years later.

     Also, Shirwa Gabriel Gbayan was captured in the nominal roll as having been employed into the service on August 24, 1992, and confirmed two years later in 1994; while Julius Isiuku (he retired from service in December 2022) was employed on January 13 1989 and confirmed two years later.

    The Nation also sighted two different memos from the Federal Civil Service Commission on the list of directors qualified to participate in the selection process for the position of Auditor-General with the names of the two women missing.

    It was also learnt that, in its last days in the 9th Assembly, the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives invited the Head of Service of the Federation, Folashade Esan to explain why it should issue two separate letters on the same issue.

      Although the meeting between the Committee and the Head of Service took place, Oke, who headed the committee, said the best thing to do was to interface with the Minister of Justice and the Attorney-General of the Federation regarding the lingering controversy surrounding the seniority of top officials on the director cadre in the OAGF. Oke had said at the meeting with the Head of Service who was represented by a Director that “there is no provision for the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation to be run by a Director. It is illegal. The Director currently occupying that office cannot fulfil the constitutional roles of the Auditor-General of the Federation.

     “We have a backlog of audited accounts of the Federation for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022, which are yet to be laid before the National Assembly due to the absence of a substantive Auditor-General of the Federation to sign them.”

     In a petition to the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives, dated February 3, 2023, Mrs Ogundowo alerted that her name was omitted from the list of eligible directors to be considered for accreditation exercise for appointment as Auditor-General for the Federation.

     She said the omission of her name was based on an unsubstantiated report of the EFCC.

     She said: “I humbly write to draw the attention of the PAC Committee to the process undertaken by the Federal Civil Service Commission midwifing the appointment of the next Auditor-General of the Federation. Having been screened by the DSS, and ICPC, it is shocking to note that the Commission (the EFCC) made an incorrect allegation on my account of income flowing into the account from a business “Satisqua Table Water Enterprises” on which I was not invited to explain but reported upon. For this kind of screening held in high esteem, it would be fair and just for the Commission to be specific on the income inflow traced to my account and seek further clarifications before drawing conclusions.

    “It is against this background that I am here seeking clarification and clearance from the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), copy of the registered business name is attached to this application. Your prompt intervention on this would be highly appreciated, please.”

    She also wrote to the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation seeking intervention “in a case of serious misconduct levelled against me by the Auditor-General for the Federation, Adolphus Aghughu.”

     The letter was dated June 28 2022, a few weeks before Aghughu retired as Auditor-General.

    According to her, she was accused of contravention of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation’s Communication Policy; Falsification of Records; Unauthorised disclosure of official information; and any other act unbecoming of a public officer. According to her, issues raised in the query were in respect of seniority of Directors of Audit which she said started in 2020 but laid to rest in line with Public Service Rules (PSR) 020106, vide letter no. HCSE/PSO/152/150 dated February 9 2021.

     In the petition, she said that “at an emergency top management meeting held on June 17 2022, the AGF presented a version of the seniority list different from the one approved by the OHCSF. This he had shared on the WhatsApp Platform of the Colleges of Directors and also acknowledged to have approved.

     It is on this same Platform that I shared a copy of the seniority list I came across, particularly when the AGF had become inaccessible to most of his lieutenants (we the directors).

     This is supported by the fact that he shouted at me and instructed his security personnel to walk me out of his office in March 2021. The WhatsApp Platform for the Colleges of Directors was created to disseminate information among the directors and also for interaction as is applicable in other MDAs.

     Contrary to an allegation of circulating a fake nominal roll to the National Assembly, I wish to state that I am not aware of the existence of such in the National Assembly or any other government agency. It may interest the HCSF to note that one of the ‘fake’ nominal rolls, as alleged by the AGF was placed on the official notice board by the AGF himself.

     The HCSF may also wish to note that many versions of the fake nominal roll are in circulation and that all these versions, which are at variance with what was approved by the OHCSF, placed Mr Onwudili Andrew Ogochukwu, a Director of Audit, ahead of me as my senior, even though this is far from the truth.

     I assumed duty on September 26 1990, while he assumed duty on July 27 1992.  Both of us attained our present post of Director of Audit on January 1, 2017. 

    Mrs Ogundowo alleged in the petition that “there is a plot to disenfranchise me from participating in the selection process for appointment of a new AGF, which is why I am being victimised. This, I believe, is to enable Mr Onwydili to take over after the exit of Mr Aghughu who will be exiting the service on September 7 2022 since the most senior Director of Audit, Mr Isiuku Julius Michael, will also exit the service in December, 2022.”

     She made reference to the fact that the ground for Onwudili to take over as the most senior director may have been laid for him earlier when he was placed above her during their promotion exercise.

    She said: “My claim above is further supported by the fact that, upon our promotion to the post of directors in 201 7, Mr Onwudili was placed on SGL 17 step 10 and my good self on SGL 17 Step 8. We were both on the same step (GL 16 before our promotion to the post of Director).

     I wonder why he was given accelerated incremental steps. It is on the strength of this that I am inclined to conclude that there is a conscious attempt to prevent and disqualify me from aspiring for the post of the AGF, which I am entitled to, just like any other Director of Audit in the Federal Civil Service.”

     Continuing, she claimed that “in my 32 years of active and dedicated service (now 33), I have not received any warning or query. I am a loyal and committed civil servant with a high premium on value addition in the discharge of my official duties or any responsibilities assigned to me.”

     The Association of Retired Staff of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation have tried to intervene and ensure that justice is done to all those concerned. The association writes two separate petitions to the House of Representatives and the Federal Civil Service Commission.

      In the letters signed by the Chairman and Coordinator, Alhaji Taiwo Lawal, the association said though some of the actions taken since August 11, 2022, were found to be just, fair and acceptable, the Commission suddenly tainted the process “with the unjust removal of the two topmost Directors of Audit from the list of qualified Directors of Audit for accreditation exercise despite the fact that these female Directors of Audit met all the required conditions laid down by the commission.”

     In the letter to the House of Representatives, the Association said its desire was to see a level playing ground for all the Directors of Audit in all the processes for the appointment of the next Auditor-General for the Federation.

     It added that “Mrs Adeoti Oluseyi Ogundowo and Mrs E. N. Ugwu were both promoted Directors of Audit on January 1 2017, but the FCC dropped their names from the list of aspiring Directors of Audit for accreditation exercise that was hurriedly fixed for Friday, January 20 2023.”

     In the second petition to the Civil Service Commission, the association said that “being a critical stakeholder in the growth and development of our former office has been keenly watching and observing the process undertaken by the Federal Civil Service Commission in the appointment of Auditor-General for the Federation.”

      According to them, following the retirement of the former Auditor-General, the association supported the idea of not leaving a vacuum and having someone from within the office emerging as a replacement. It said it felt elated when the commission issued an internal advertisement and also circular requesting qualified directors to submit relevant briefs through the Human Resources Department.

     According to the Chairman, on January 13 2023, the Federal Civil Service Commission, through its circular with ref. no FCSC/CHMN/RAG/023/1I/126 and signed by Ogaba Ede (Director of Appointment and Recruitment) on behalf of the Chairman requested 10 Directors of Audit that have a minimum of one year and above before retirement to re-submit their CVs, briefs, certificates, personal and confidential files, and others to the Commission on or before January 17 2023.

    With the reduction of minimum years to retirement to one year and above, the Commission had widened the space and extended participation to earlier screened-out Directors of Audit.

    However, the Association observed that three names of suitably qualified Directors of Audit that were earlier screened and met all the requirements, including more than two years and above before retirement, were not included.

     The Directors of Audit are Mrs Adeoti Oluseyi Ocundowo FCNA. — promoted in 2017, Mrs Eucharia Ngozi Ugwu FCNA, mni. – promoted in 2017 and Mr Shakaar Chira Kantiyor FCNA promoted in 2021.

      The omission did not provide reason(s) for the non-inclusion of their names on the list. This Association was of the opinion that these three Directors of Audit must have been screened and hence there shouldn’t be a need to re-screen them for accreditation.”

     The association also said that “on January 18 2023, the Federal Civil Service Commission, through its Circular no. FCSC/CHMN/RAG/023/II/127 and signed on behalf of the Chairman by Ogaba Ede (Director of Appointment and Recruitment) released list of 11 Directors of Audit for accreditation exercise fixed then for January 20 2023.”

      It further said that “this Association was founded to protect the interest of serving and retired members of staff of Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation at all times and in all places. Consequently, the Association is not happy to confirm that, the two topmost female Directors of Audit that seem to have met all necessary requirements for accreditation were dropped.

     “Also of note was the inclusion of one of the three serving Directors of Audit (Mr Shaakaar Kantiyor Chira FCNA) —promoted to Director of Audit on January 1 2021, that was among three earlier screened but not added to the list requested for as per letter Ref. no. FCSC/CHMN/023/1/126 of January 13 2023.”

     It asked the Commission to be “gender-sensitive by bringing these two experienced female directors that were promoted in January 2017 up to the accreditation list and allow them to partake fully in the remaining exercise for the appointment of Auditor-General for the Federation.” They also want the two female Directors of Audit to be officially told the justifiable reason why their names were not included in the accreditation list.

     In a letter dated May 31 2023, the immediate past Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, Oluwole Oke informed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the infractions existing in the agency which is supposed to audit all government assets and accounts and present reports to the National Assembly.

    Incidentally, by the provisions of section 85 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, all audited reports are to be submitted only to the National Assembly.

      Oke, whose committee has oversight function over the agency for four years, drew the attention to developments within the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation bothering on constitutional infractions on the appointment of a substantive Auditor-General of the Federation.

     He accused the Office of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Federal Civil Service Commission of ignoring the provisions of the public service rules by appointing a junior director to oversee the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation. This decision also contravened the provisions of section 86(3) which requires a resolution of the Senate for anybody to act in the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation.

     In a petition with reference no HR/ PAC/SC05/9NASS/66/206, Oke said the Head of Service contravened the provisions of the Constitution which states that no one should occupy an office in acting capacity for more than six months. As a result of the development, he said, several annual audited reports of MDAs have not been submitted to the National Assembly because the person acting as the Auditor-General lacks the power to sign the reports.

     The Nation investigation revealed that the last audited report of the government expenditure submitted to the National Assembly is the 2019 report, while the 2021 and 2022 annual reports are still pending. He said the working of the Public Accounts Committees in the National Assembly has been hampered by such delays.

     He said: “The position of the Auditor-General of the Federation became vacant on September 7 2022 after the retirement of the then substantive Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr Aghughu Adolphus.

     Contrary to the practice within the Public Service, which is that the most senior official is required to assume the role of the Head of the Institution in an acting capacity, the number three director (Mr Andrew Onwudili) with less than two years to serve was imposed on the Office and designated as the “Director Overseeing the Office” by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

     This practically upturned the seniority nominal roll of the Office and created severe animosity and apathy within the Office. In addition to the above, Section 86(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) requires that a public official heading a position can act only for six months and another person can be appointed in an acting capacity.

     However, the Director  Overseeing the Office has acted beyond the required six months, which is a gross violation of the Constitution. The implication of this is that actions taken by him are both illegal and unconstitutional.

     In addition, the Annual Audit Report “for various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) which is due for “submission to the National Assembly, has not been signed and cannot be laid before the National Assembly.

      The Director Overseeing the Office lacks the constitutional capacity to sign these reports; hence, it has created a backlog, which is affecting the performance of Committees within the National Assembly.”

     Oke further said that “based on my personal inquiry and review of the situation, I noticed that one Mrs Oluseyi Ogundowo is the most senior director within the office and should have assumed the role of Acting Auditor-General.

  • Umahi suspends auditor-general, others over communal crisis

    Ebonyi State governor, David Umahi , yesterday suspended the Auditor-General of the state, Mr Innocent Nwida, from office over the latest communal crisis in the state. The governor also suspended other elected and appointed office holders from Igbeagu Community in the Izzi Local Government Area of the state because of the crisis. Umahi had on April 9 suspended the chairmen of Ikwo and Abakaliki local government councils and all elected and appointed office holders from Enyibichiri in Ikwo and Enyigba in Abakaliki over a communal clash.

    The  Commissioner for Border, Peace and Internal Security, Dr Kenneth Ugbala,  announced the suspension of the officials while addressing newsmen after the governor’s meeting with people from Igbeagu Community, involved in a boundary dispute with Ukele Community in Cross River.

    Ugbala noted that the suspension, which took immediate effect would elapse when peace returned to the communities.  “The affected persons include the Auditor-General of the state, Mr Innocent Nwida, Mr Cletus Nwakpu, Project Coordinator of the FADAMA 3 programme and His Royal Highness, Ogbonnaya Ukwa, among other political office holders.  “The issue of whether the governor has the constitutional right to suspend the elected officers does not arise because they are constitutionally mandated to protect the lives and property of their people.

    “However, when an elected officer fails to perform this function, he has violated the constitution and should either resign, be suspended or charged to court.  “The courts would interpret such issues further and we are expecting such situations with this decision taken,” Ugbala said.   The commissioner berated the National Boundary Commission (NBC) for its inability to permanently resolve the boundry disputes, including others in several parts of the state.

    “We sometimes doubt the sincerity of the Federal Government in settling such crisis and view the NBC as a toothless bulldog.  “It has made several visits to the disputed areas even before the inception of the present administration but no decision has been made. “It is not our duty to demarcate the boundaries and the state government has attended all meetings convened by the NBC, being always disposed to peace.”

  • Auditor-General begins project inspection

    Office of the Auditor-General for Local Government in Lagos State has begun project inspection in the 20 local governments (LGs) and 37 local council development areas (LCDAs).

    The exercise was launched yesterday by Acting Auditor-General for Local Governments Mrs. Adesumbo Idiat Abolarin, who inaugurated Ifelodun LCDA

    Legislative building.

    She said in a statement: “This year’s exercise will start on October 11 and end on 26. Attention will paid to only projects completed between January and December 2017.

    “To ensure a worthwhile exercise, engineers from the Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure, Ministry of Housing and Ministry of Transportation have been coopted to strengthen the audit teams.

    “It is necessary to remind the councils that the outcome of the inspection will be published and circulated.

    “Local governments are enjoined to cooperate with the inspection teams, to ensure completion of the assignment.”

  • NNPC, DPR must explain zero revenue remittance, says Auditor-General

    THE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) have cases to answer over non-remittance of revenues to the Federation Account for several months, a new report  has shown.

    The Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr. Anthony Ayine, in his Annual Audit Report for 2016, said it was observed from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Components Statements that no collections were reported into the Federation Revenue Account by some revenue collecting agencies for certain months of the year. It was not clear from available records why these months recorded zero revenue collections and no explanation was provided for this.

    “The Accountant-General has been requested to obtain an explanation from the Group Managing Director of NNPC and Director, DPR for the non-collection of revenue during these relevant months and ensure that any revenue found due for these months is remitted to the Federation Account, and evidence forwarded for audit verification,” he said.

    Ayine added that another abuse of financial regulation of the 2016 budget was found in the illegal movement of monies from two dedicated funds to purposes other than for the mandates of the funds.

    He said the money were moved from the Stabilisation Account for states and the Federal Government by the Presidency for the establishment of an Army Barracks and another sum as investment in the Sovereign Wealth Fund.

    The two acts, according to him, aside not being tidy on framework of recovery, they are illegal as another case of lending out the Ecological Funds meant to strictly check ecological challenges without records to track recovery.

    “From available records, a total of N17,108,583,681.78 accrued from the Federation Account into 0.5 per cent Stabilisation Fund from January – December 2016.

    “During the examination of Central Bank statements for the year, we observed that the sum of N2,812,694,928.36 was released to the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), and N14,374,728,817.20 to the Federal Ministry of Defense from the Stabilisation Fund.

    “The Accountant-General has been requested to: Provide the authority for the Funds Invested, tenor of the investment, rate of interest payable, certificate for the funds invested and forward same for audit verification; Explain the utilisation of N14,374,728,817.20 for the purpose of funding a new division contrary to the purpose for which the Fund was created; Provide evidence of refund of this sum of N17,187,423,745.56 back to the Stabilisation Fund,” the report said.

  • Reps give CBN, Auditor-General six weeks to provide TSA’s report

    Reps give CBN, Auditor-General six weeks to provide TSA’s report

    The House of Representatives has given the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Office of the Auditor-Genera of the Federation (OAGF) six weeks to provide  detailed reconciliation and audit reports of the amounts generated so far in the Treasury Single Account (TSA) of the Federal Government.

    The House said it’s ultimatum was necessitated by the need to know the cureent and true status of the TSA, going by reports that not all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have complied with the August 2015 directives of the Federal Government on the policy.

    The Abubakar Danburam-led ad-hoc committee investigating the status of the TSA, said the November 10 deadline remained sacrosanct, adding that no Money Deposit Banks (MDBs) is excluded as long as they have MDAs’ account with them.

    The Committee held a closed door meeting with officials from the OAGF, the Auditor-General’s office as well as CBN and some commercial banks.

    Danburam said the Committee was forced to take the decision following revelation of the  Director of Funds, Accountant-General’s Office, Alexander Adeyemi, that there were still leakages in collecting funds from agencies despite the existence of TSA.

    The Committee learnt last month that the TSA has not been audited by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation since its inception, two years ago.

  • Auditor-General to inspect council projects

    The Office of the Auditor-General for Local Governments in Lagos State is to embark on Project Inspection Exercise in all the 20 Local Governments (LGs) and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs)

    Lagos State Auditor-General for Local Governments, Mr Musibau Olatunji Jimoh in a statement, said the exercise will begin on October 5 and ends on October 20.

    Attention, he said, would be focused only on the projects undertaken and completed between January and December last year.

    According to him, engineers in diverse fields from the ministries of Waterfront Infrastructure, Housing and the Environment have been co-opted for requisite technical competence.

    The Project Inspection Exercise will be kicked off by Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa and traditional rulers.

  • Auditor-General plans weekly audit of agencies

    Auditor-General plans weekly audit of agencies

    Accounts of government agencies are now to be audited weekly to improve compliance with the provision of reports, Auditor-General of the Federation Anthony Ayine said yesterday.
    Ayine spoke during his visit to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alhaji Muhammad Bello, in Abuja.
    He said one of the purposes of sending auditors was to ensure completeness and timely rendition of accounts to the office of the Auditor-General.
    “Ideally, we expect to receive the Consolidated Financial Statements from government agencies on or before May 31, so that we can work on them promptly for accountability.
    “This is because for accountability to be meaningful, timely preparation and submission of financial statement is key.
    “We also have a mind of reintroducing internal auditors. The reintroduction will be of mutual benefit to us.
    “Internal control is very important and internal audit is a key component of internal control. When you have an effective internal control, it can help to strengthen other controls in place.
    “We will encourage that the internal audit be brought in, and will submit internal audit report to you and to us because it will help you to strengthen your internal controls and attention drawn to areas that needs immediate attention,’’ he said.
    Ayine also sought the minister’s assistance to create an additional exit point for the Audit House, location of the office of the Auditor-General for safety purposes.
    The minister expressed the willingness of his office to collaborate with the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation.
    “This government has a deliberate policy to give the office of the Auditor-General the ultimate support.
    “This is something we have discussed at high levels and we feel very strongly that your office has to be given the full support it needs or else its strength will be wasted.
    “If government is able to handle what you suggest, proper internal auditing, internal controls, we can then use all our energies for more progressive work, not trying to go back to what has already been done.
    “So you can be rest assured that we are fully with you in respect to resident auditors.
    “For the FCT, it is very important because we are not just a Ministry, we are also a territory that has approximately six million people, which is more than some states.
    “It will be welcoming to have your auditors working closely with our internal audit departments so that we work more efficiently and enhance good governance,’’ he said.
    Bello said although the reality was that every land within Abuja had already been allocated, his office would see how the Auditor-General’s request could be accommodated.

  • Buhari seeks confirmation of Ayine as Auditor-General

    Buhari seeks confirmation of Ayine as Auditor-General

    President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday asked the Senate to consider and confirm Mr. Anthony Mkpe Ayine, as the Auditor General of the Federation.
    This is contained in a letter by President Buhari to the Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki.
    President Buhari noted in the letter read by Saraki yesterday that Section 86(1) of 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (as amended), states that the Auditor-General for the Federation shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Federal Civil Service Commission subject to confirmation by the Senate.
    The letter added, “In line with this constitutional requirement, the Federal Civil Service Commission has recommended Mr. Anthony Mkpe Ayine for appointment as the Auditor-General for the Federation. The Curriculum Vitae of Mr. A. M. Ayine is herewith attached.
    “I have accepted this recommendation and hereby present the nomination of Mr. Anthony Mkpe Ayine for confirmation by the Senate.
    “While hoping that this request will receive the usual expeditious consideration of the Distinguished Senators, please accept, Mr. Senate President, the assurances of my highest regards.”
    If confirmed, Ayine will succeed Mr. Samuel Ukura.

  • SGF directs Auditor-General to retire

    SGF directs Auditor-General to retire

    The office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) has directed the Auditor-General, Mr. Samuel Ukura, to proceed on retirement.

    It ordered the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) to set in motion machinery for the appointment of a new Auditor-General for the Federation.

    Ukura, who was appointed in 2010, is due for retirement on June 5, when he will clocking the mandatory retirement age of 60 years. Ukura, who was appointed in 2010, was born on June 5, 1956.

    The memo from the SGF, dated May 25, was signed by Mohammed Bukar, Permanent Secretary (General Services) office of the SGF, has directed Ukura to proceed on retirement.

    The memo had, among others, directed the FCSC to appoint the most senior Director as Auditor-General in acting capacity, pending the appointment of a substantive Auditor-General within three months.

    The SGF’s memo also directed the FCSC to issue an internal circular to all Directors in the office of the Auditor General for the Federation to commence the process of appointing a new Auditor-General.

    However, the directive has triggered a web of intrigues, as the Auditor General was reported to have allegedly written to the FCSC disqualifying the three most senior Directors next to him.

    The memo further stated, “That all relevant Directors (Audit) regardless of the year of promotion, be considered in the process of appointing a new Auditor-General in order to make the exercise more competitive and to attract more competent capable officers in the process.

    “That the Commission should place internal and external advertisement to expand the field of selection to consider other qualified Auditors both within and outside the civil service.

    “That a candidate for the post should possess a minimum of good Honours Degree and must be a qualified professional Accountant holding membership certificate of a reputable accountancy body recognised by law within and/or outside Nigeria.

    “That the candidate possesses a minimum of 15 years post professional qualification experience, acquired in the public or private sector, at least 10 years of which must be in auditing.

    “That the most senior Director be appointed in acting capacity at the expiration of the term of office of the current Auditor-General and must have at least a minimum of two years to retirement.

    “That the Commission should start and conclude the process of interview and recommendation of three (3) candidates to the President, in order of merit, within three months of approval”.

    But indications emerged on Monday that Ukura, with less than a week to his retirement, is scheduled to travel to China this week, for a three-week official engagement. Official sources said he has yet to tender his retirement letter.

    From indications, he will be returning to the country two weeks after his retirement date, fueling speculations that the Auditor-General might be waiting to benefit from a reform bill pending before the Senate.

    The bill, which, among others, seeks to establish a Federal Audit Service Commission, was said to have been passed by the House of Representatives a few weeks ago.

    The proposed bill seeks to make the Auditor-General the chairman of the Audit Commission and also prescribes renewable tenure of four years for a sitting Auditor-General, with his retirement age pegged at 65 years.

    Section 19 (6) of the bill states that, “A person holding office as Auditor General shall hold office until he attains the age of 65 years, or he has served in the public service of the federation for 35 years, depending on which comes first”.

    Section 50 (1) of the bill also states that, “The appointment of the Auditor General and the existing staff of the Office of the Auditor General shall remain valid upon coming into force of this bill”.

  • Senate knocks Auditor-General

    Senate knocks Auditor-General

    The Senate yesterday knocked the Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr. Samuel Ukura, for alleged gross negligence on the audited annual reports of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government from 2009 to 2014.

    As a  result, the upper chamber mandated Ukura to issue clearance certificates to government agencies whose annual audited reports have been cleared.

    The Senate Public Accounts Committee carpeted the Auditor-General during the probe session it held with heads of MDAs on annual reports of their audited accounts from 2009 to 2014.

    The Auditor-General had indicted the MDAs in his reports forwarded to the Senate.

    Mr. Ukura claimed in his reports, that many of the MDAs failed to submit their annual reports but the MDAs faulted AG’s submissions by providing evidence of submission of their annual financial reports.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in particular was peeved by the claim of the AG in his report that the apex bank failed to make available its audited reports for 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

    The CBN said the queries raised by the Office of the Auditor-General on the issue was uncalled for especially since its audited reports for the years listed were submitted to the office of the Auditor-General.

    CBN Deputy – Governor ( Operations), Bayo Adelabu who represented CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele informed the committee that in line with section 65 (3d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Fiscal Responsibility Act of parliament of 2007, the apex bank submits its annual reports of any previous year on February 28 of every year.

    Adelabu noted that the claim made in the report of the Auditor-General as regards annual report of CBN from 2010 to 2014, was false as the apex bank had submitted all the reports 2014 based on queries issued by the Auditor- General’s office.

    The Auditor-General was absent at the investigative session, his representative did not counter the submission of the CBN.

    Apart from the CBN, other MDAs including the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Nigerian Port Authority, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), also faulted claims made by the Auditor- General in his reports.