Senate’s Tough Accounting Point
On February 27, 2012 · In Editorial
A SENATE Committee’s rejection of the accounts of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, as “illegal and unacceptable” will cost the public millions of Naira, but it is a strong point about obeying the Constitution, a matter more important than mere economics.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Account, Senator Ahmad Lawan, in rejecting the report said the auditing firm was not on the list of auditors accredited by the Auditor General of the Federation.
“Recently, the NNPC announced that its accounts were audited,” Lawan said. “The auditing firm is not accredited by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation.” He noted that it was a violation of the Constitution. It may seem a trite point but under the law, the accounts of NNPC had not been audited. To proceed otherwise would be to disobey the Constitution, which empowers the Auditor-General of the Federation to place the audited accounts before the National Assembly.
Section 85 (3) of the Constitution grants the Auditor-General of the Federation immense powers over public accounts.
It states, “Nothing in subsection (2) of this section shall be construed as authorising the Auditor-General to audit the accounts of or appoint auditors for government statutory corporations, commissions, authorities, agencies, including all persons and bodies established by an Act of the National Assembly, but the Auditor-General shall –
(a) provide such bodies with – (i) a list of auditors qualified to be appointed by them as external auditors and from which the bodies shall appoint their external auditors, and (ii) guidelines on the level of fees to be paid to external auditors; and (b) comment on their annual accounts and auditor’s reports thereon.”
Matters of probity in public accounting are still treated with levity. It is inconceivable that the management of NNPC did not know the constitutional provisions for auditing accounts of government statutory corporations, commissions, authorities, and agencies of which it is one.
The constitutional provision would ensure that the appointed auditing firms are ones that meet the criteria. In addition, if auditors’ fees are left to the agencies, the public may lose money through high fees.
In every sense, the arrangement keeps more than a pair of eyes on maintaining probity in public accounting. However, it is not a foolproof system, nor does it guarantee the level of success that Deputy Senate Leader Abdul Ningi attributed to it. Ningi said the neglect of the role of the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation was the cause of corruption in the public sector. It is not.
The emphasis on NNPC needs to be extended to other government organisations. Hundreds of them are un-audited for years. They deserve the Senate’s attention.
