Tijani Adeyemi – Abuja
The National Assembly on Wednesday, passed the Federal Audit Service Bill, which prescribes a five-year jail term or five million naira or both for any accounting officer who prevents the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation from accessing their account books.
The Senate concurred with the House of Representatives, which had earlier passed the proposed legislation.
Senate Leader, Ibrahim Gobir, led the debate for the concurrence, which the red chamber approved after dissolving to the committee of the Whole.
The Chairman Senate Public Accounts Committee, Senator Matthew Urhoghide, told journalists that the national assembly is amending the Federal Audit Service Bill after fifty-six years having been enacted since 1956.
The Bill was also passed in the 8th Senate; It seeks to strengthen the office of the Auditor General for the Federation but it failed to receive the presidential assent then.
According to Senator Urhoghide, the Office is supposed to check systemic corruption in Nigeria by checking all expenditures of the ministries, departments, and agencies of government as provided for by Section 85 of the Constitution.
“The Office of the Auditor General for the Federation is independent of the executive arm of government. He relates directly with the National Assembly.
“The Second aspect of the bill is the establishment of the Federal Audit Commission to recruit the proper staff, and ensure discipline and promotion.
” Audit is a very peculiar department but right now, we have those who did not study accounting being employed and working in the Audit House probably for political reasons.
“The Commission will be responsible for the recruitment of proper staff that would be able to audit the accounts of the over 797 federal agencies.
“The Country needs a proper workforce to be able to do that.
“The office of the Auditor General for the Federation was having over 3000 workforces but had reduced to 1200 staff now.
“executive advised him wrongly against it. His action was at cross purpose with the President who campaigned on the mantra of anti-corruption. We believed that he was not properly briefed, hence he withheld assent then.
He said the 9th Assembly believe that one of the legacies we must leave behind is to pass the Federal Audit Service Bill which will check corruption before it is carried out.
He lamented that the anti-graft agencies had practically taken over the job of the Auditor General for the Federation.
“The Forensic Audit set up for the Niger Delta Development Commission was a violation of the constitution. It is the work of the Auditor General for the Federation.
“The first time we had audit ordinance was in 1956. We have now changed a law that has been in place for over 60 years.
“More powers have been given to the office of the Auditor General for the Federation in the new amendment to the bill.
“The least penalty that we have now in the bill for an individual is five-year imprisonment or a fine of five million or both.
He said the he House of Representatives passed N500,000 or two years imprisonment but the Senate rejected it. This is because the penalty must serve the purpose and as a good deterrent. So, the penalty has to be severe.
“For corporate agencies that refused to audit their accounts for years, their fine is N20m, the house had recommended N10m but we disagreed, he stressed.
