President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja said that no one in government should be afraid of audit if they have done the right thing.
The President, therefore, encouraged public servants to see audit as a means of improving their performance and not as a threat to their positions or livelihoods.
Declaring open the second edition of the conference of Auditors-General in Nigeria, Buhari challenged auditors to adhere to the professional code of conduct guiding their operations, while ensuring timely and quality review of financial performance of public officers.
He also charged Auditors-General in Nigeria to maximize the use of their constitutional powers in the fight against corruption.
The President expressed concern that ineffective audits had contributed largely to governance problems over the years, urging auditors to embrace good governance, accountability and transparency, which are hallmarks of his administration.
”As accountability institutions in the Federal, states and local governments, and as the institutions empowered under the Constitution to review the financial performance of public officers even where there has been no petition or allegation, you are uniquely placed to tackle corrupt practices.
”Through your audit findings and recommendations, corrupt practices would be discovered early and loopholes blocked before they are exploited.
”Furthermore, you have the full range of audit tools at your disposal including financial compliance, performance and Information Technology audits.
”There is literally no aspect of government performance or expenditure you cannot examine. What may be missing is the will to properly deploy the powers that you have.
”In which case, I will remind you that under-performance by auditors, or ineffective audits, contribute largely to governance problems. Auditors therefore need to decide not to be part of the problem but the arrow to the solution,” he said.
Commenting on the 2016 and 2017 Annual Reports of the Auditor-General of the Federation, the President noted that the audit opinion was in line with the reality of corruption, mismanagement and misappropriation facing the nation.
The President commended the Auditor-General of the Federation for his efforts, saying that it was important that all Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are kept on their toes through timely and high-quality audits.”
Emphasizing the need for quality audit, President Buhari asked the conference to reflect on the following:
”Has any annual Financial Statements produced by any of the States received anything other than a clean audit opinion as far back as you can remember?
”You will admit this is strange, in view of the significant cases of misappropriation that have been uncovered, the huge balances that have been recovered and the sentences being served by convicted officials including past state governors.
”One can either assume the audits are not thoroughly done, the auditors have been compromised, or the auditors are constrained in some way or other.
”You will know best what your constraints are, but I encourage you to reflect on this issue. What will it take to do a thorough job for the sake of your Local Government, your State, Nigeria and for the sake of future generations?
In his remarks, the Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr Anthony Ayine, identified the absence of an Audit Act, which is a basic requirement for Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of Nigeria, as a major impediment for audit institutions in the country.
Noting that the Audit Ordnance of 1958 which the country was using is no longer in the statute books of Nigeria, Ayine called for the enactment of Audit Laws to further strengthen the audit institutions to perform better.
A major highlight of the event was the presentation of ”Champion of Transparency and Anti-Corruption” Award to President Buhari by the Conference of Auditors-General in Nigeria.
