FG Financial Transparency: Assent to Audut Service Bill, CSOs pressure Tinubu

…Say assent ’ll build public confidence in fiscal reforms

Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

A group of seven Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have commenced a campaign aimed at pressuring President Bola Tinubu into giving his assent to the Audit Service Bill passed by the National Assembly.
The CSOs are: Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Action Aid Nigeria, Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative, Accountability Lab, Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, The Statecraft Report, and BUDGIT.
Briefing the media today, in Abuja, on why the president should urgently give his assent, the Lead Director of CSJ, Eze Onyekpere (Esq) said that signing the Bill was crucial to crowning the several fiscal reforms introduced by President Tinubu.
He added that it would also make the anti-corruption efforts of the current administration more effective, by closing various avenues of revenue leakage.
Mr. Onyekpere said, “The Bill seeks to strengthen the last mile of public finance management and the anti-corruption agenda of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN).”

“The Bill introduces key reforms with the establishment of Federal Audit Service, the Federal Audit Board, appointment procedure and qualification for the AuGF and redefinition of tenure.
“It also expands the functions and powers of the AuGF, while introducing timelines for the performance of statutory functions across board, holding the AuGF accountable, sanctions and penalties for audit infractions, among others.”
The AuGF’s functions, when the Bill is signed into law would include, value for money and performance audit, forensic audit; audit of special funds, classified expenditure, donations, grants and loans, all revenues accruing to FGN, disaster grants and aids, subsidies, performance information, counterpart funded projects, and public private partnerships of FGN.

In his contributions, the Founder/Chief Analyst of Statecraft Report, Mr. John Onyeukwu, described the Bill as a critical instrument for fighting corruption and that President Tinubu should sign it into law as a demonstration of his seriousness in the anti-graft war.
His words, “It is a good opportunity for President Tinubu to consolidate his fiscal reforms and prove to Nigerians that her is serious about fighting corruption.
“The Audit Service Bill is to improve the efficiency of public spending. It is time to undertake performance audit, value for money audit and we know that the president has committed himself to providing leadership in efficient public finance administration. This is really an opportunity for him to prove it.”
Mr. John Elemo, Executive Director of Paradigm Leadership Support initiative, who read the CSOs’ recommendations said, “We respectfully urge the signing of the Federal Audit Service Bill into law and to direct the following immediately upon assent: Constitute the Federal Audit Board within 90 days and publish a clear timeline for the appointment of the Director-General of the Federal Audit Service;

*Direct the Attorney-General to publish a plain-language summary of the Bill’s key provisions for public communication; transparency on what the law does to diffuse misinformation and build public confidence;

*Communicate assent to the IMF, World Bank, and AFROSAI-E as a concrete governance reform delivery under the Renewed Hope Agenda, and request a brief statement of acknowledgement for the public record;

*Set a public implementation benchmark, the Federal Audit Board seated, and implementation proceeds with dispatch.”

How the Bill ‘ll will make AuGF more efficient
Beside the traditional powers, under Bill, the AuGF will have the power to decide the methodology to adopt in respect of an audit and the nature and extent of audit which are part of the independence of the AuGF.
New powers of the AuGF would include unrestricted access to information; to summon and take evidence on oath and resort to courts to compel appearance; and investigative powers where sufficient prima facie evidence exist to warrant investigation.
Currently, the AuGF has no power to enforce sanctions against public officers that are in breach of public financial regulations but the Bill empowers the office to surcharge the amount of any expenditure which has not been duly brought into the account or the amount of any loss or deficiency incurred and to revoke any surcharge imposed by the Auditor-General.;
It also empowers the AuGF to direct the withholding of the emoluments and allowances of any person who fails or refuses to reply to audit queries within 30 days and for as long as the person fails to comply.
He could also examine accounts and records of individual or corporate bodies where public funds have been traced or suspected to have benefited from illegal transfer of public funds.
The Bill makes it mandatory for Internal Auditors to submit Internal Audit Reports to AuGF on a monthly, quarterly and half yearly basis. This will facilitate the work of the AuGF.

Express Declaration of Audit Reports as Public Documents
FG Audit Reports are to be uploaded on the website of the Service after submission to NASS, according to the Bill. This will facilitate public access to audit documents and aid the work of the media and civil society.
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