SERAP, others ask Buhari to sign federal audit bill into law – TheNigerialawyer

The Socio-Economic Right and Accountability Project and seven
other civil societies have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sign
the Federal Audit Service Commission bill into law which will help
to fight corruption in public expenditure.

The civil societies said in Abuja that the audit law would
“ensure that public resources are efficiently managed and make
audit reports of government funds publicly available.”
The civil societies which made this call at a joint briefing
included; SERAP, BudgIT, Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative and
Step Up Nigeria.

They noted that the President’s signing of the Federal Audit
Service Commission Bill, which was passed by the 8th National
Assembly since January 2019, would reduce public corruption and
ensure administrative independence for the Office of the
Auditor-General of the Federation.

The SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said, “The
comparative analysis of Nigeria and five other countries including
Ghana, Kenya, Sierra Leone, South Africa and the United Kingdom
with respect to how audit institutions are structured in these
countries, provides seamless understanding as to why corruption is
at a much higher level in Nigeria.

“We request therefore that President Buhari urgently signs the
pending Federal Audit Service Commission bill as this will
contribute to the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
“Transparency International in its Corruption Perception Index 2018
rated Nigeria 144 with 27 points while Sierra Leone was rated 129,
Ghana 78 and United Kingdom 11 with 80 points. These other
countries with less corruption have stronger supreme audit
institutions.”

Also, the PLSI Executive Director, Olusegun Elemo, said, “We
believe that signing this bill into law will, among other things,
increase citizens’ engagement in the audit process and management
of public funds through making audit reports publicly
available.

“It will also ensure that public resources are sufficiently
managed, improve the quality of goods and services being delivered
to citizens through conducting performance audit.”

Subscribe ToNairalaw News!