Ex-ICAN President Wants President To Lay Audited Accounts Before NASS Prior To New Budget

The National Assembly should amend the constitution of the country to compel the President to lay before it the annual audited accounts before it in the same way he seeks legislative approval of the budget. 

Former ICAN president Ismaila Muhammadu Zakari made the call at the Audit Reporting Workshop organised by the non-profit NGO Front Foot Media Initiative. 

Zakari noted the constitutional stipulates that the Accountant General must prepare the annual accounts within 90 days of the end of the accounting year. He must then send it to the Auditor General who spends a further three months to prepare and send it to the National Assembly. 

Zakari said compelling the President to lay the annual accounts before the National Assembly would instil greater accountability. 

The Federal Government has not had audited accounts since 2019 and until recently did not have an  Auditor General for most of that period until President Bola Tinubu nominated  Mr. Shaakaa Chira to serve in that position.

At the workshop, financial expert and CEO of The CFG Advisory Mr Tilewa Adebajo underlined the significance of the audit report. “The budget is only a projection. The audited account is the reality.”

According to him, the 2019 Federal Government Audit Report revealed a number of irregularities and shortcomings, including: unapproved payments amounting to N200 billion.

“These payments were not supported by the necessary documentation and may have violated the country’s Public Procurement Act.  The Auditor-General also found that over N100 billion could not be accounted for in the Federal Government’s 2019 financial statements. This suggests that the funds may have been misused or stolen,” he disclosed.            

The Auditor-General found that the Federal Government has weak internal controls in place, which makes it difficult to prevent and detect fraud. In addition to the above; here are some other highlights and recommendations from 2019.

The report found that the Federal Government’s revenue collection efforts were weak, resulting in a significant revenue shortfall. The Auditor-General recommended that the government improves its revenue collection efforts by expanding the tax base, streamlining tax administration processes, and cracking down on tax evasion.

The Audit Reporting Workshop held at the GulfView Conference Center and Suites, Ikeja GRA was the fourth in the series. Earlier workshops were in Benin, Awka and Abuja. 

Emeka Izeze, director and partner, said the Audit Reporting Training: X-Raying State Government Audit Reports is a flagship capacity development programme of FrontFoot Media Initiative. 

“It is a targeted training of journalists which we are undertaking under the auspices of the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism and the sponsorship of the MacArthur Foundation,” Izeze affirmed. 

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