BEVERLY HILLS, January 28, (THEWILL) – President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Abuja said no one in government should be afraid of audit if they have done the right thing.
Declaring open the second edition of the conference of Auditors-General in Nigeria, President 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 this 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.
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