Abuja: By Segun AJAYI
Publisherd, Sunday, October 1,2023
A NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATION, Defenders of Constitutional Democracy (DCD) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to expedite action on the appointment of a substantive Auditor General for the Federation.
The Group in a statement made available to news men in Abuja by its National Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Aliyu lamented that the vacuum being created by the absence of a substantive Auditor General was hurting the country's efforts in auditing Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs of the Federal Government thereby allowing corruption to fester in the public service.
According to the Group,"Your Excellency, we want to once more remind you that Nigeria has been operating without a substantive Auditor General for the Federation for about a year now, this is unheard of in any serious country. Since the retirement of the then AuGF, Adolphus Aghughu in September 2022, the office has been without a legal occupant.
"After his retirement, the Federal Civil Service Commission advertised the position on 11th August, 2022 but the process was inchoate. Instead, we now have an anomaly where an Overseeing Director was appointed, who has been operating since then.
"Your Excellency, as a professional accountant and auditor yourself, we urge you to revisit the process, conclude it and immediately appoint an Auditor General for the Federation to save the nation from this embarrassment and the damage it is doing to the nation's public finances"
The Group further states, "Your Excellency, it will interest you to know that the inability of the government to appoint an AuGF since 2022 has also halted the operations of the public accounts committee of both chambers of the National Assembly. The report of the AuGF for three years has been in abeyance and not been filed in the National Assembly. This is an aberration"
"Sir, this vacuum in the position of AuGF is promoting corruption in the system and we feel this is not good for an administration that has an obsession for transparency, and accountability and zero tolerance for corruption.
"As Defenders of Democracy, we appeal to you to immediately reenergized the process, which commenced on August 2022 and appoint the rightful candidate .
"Sir, we want to intimate you that some surreptitious efforts were made by certain elements to thwart the process and scheme out some directors on account of skewed seniority and gender. We advise that you pay special attention to these variables to ensure that the right thing is done and the deserving candidate is appointed.
"You aware that the Public Service Rule do not recognise nor envisaged the position of Overseeing Director, hence the earlier you resolve this matter the better. We know your antecedents and believe you will accede to our request without delay", the statement concluded.
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