Nkechinyere Ewa-Okpara
THE body of Federal and State Auditor Generals of Nigeria has called on public finance officers to be active in the war against corruption in the country.
The body also called for a uniform auditing standard in the auditing profession in Nigeria.
Sunday Adegoke, National Chairman of the body, in a capacity-building workshop for the Auditor-Generals Southeast held in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital, said financial misappropriation and other corrupt activities is a global phenomenon and called for a holistic approach in the fight against the menace in the country, especially the key government functionaries.
“Public finance actors, especially the key government functionaries who hold one or more responsibilities in managing public finances, are primarily responsible parties to ensure that this menace (corruption) is brought down.
“There is a possibility, and the risk is there, that may spot a place for the managers of the public finances, need to detect each fraud – that is either to detect or prevent the fraud,” he stated.
Adegoke, who is Ondo State Auditor General, further said that the workshop was centred on ‘enhancing public sector auditors’ performance for relevance and value addition’ in the country.
He emphasised that the capacity building program would equip his members with prerequisite knowledge and guidelines to ensure the sustenance of the standards requirements of the organization in the public auditing profession.
He stressed the need for the Auditor Generals to always discharge their expected duties as public auditors about financial reports to avoid fraud.
“We will just come in as reviewers to take a look at whatever report they have submitted and look at the financial management system. And where, for instance, a fraud is detected, we report it so that those places can be dealt with as provided by the laws. And what we have come here is to strengthen the capacity of the personnel,”
He maintained that the Auditor Generals should be guided by the provisions of the constitution of Nigeria while carrying out the public finance auditing before submitting the report(s) to the House of the Assembly in their various state.
He observed that no erring auditor would escape the wrath of the law as the various auditors have their codes of conduct checkmating the professional members’ actions and activities.
Samuel Uduma, the head of the Sub-Supreme body in Ebonyi State, said the training program would be of help to the Auditors General to be abreast with the prerequisite knowledge for the public auditing profession.
He thanked the Ebonyi State government for sponsoring the workshop.
“There is a very big gap; most of the Auditor-Generals and their staffs don’t know a lot of things concerning current happenings in the auditing profession, public sector auditing profession.
“So, this is why we are here. We want to have a common auditing standard. We want to streamline it and not what this person will be writing this, another person will be writing that”, he said.
