President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mr. Shaakaa Chira as the substantive Auditor-General for the Federation, as recommended by the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC).
Presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, announced this in a statement on Friday.
He said the appointment was done in exercise of powers vested in him by Section 86 of the 1999 Constitution (Amended).
Ngelale said the president approved Mr. Chira’s appointment after the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) conducted a screening exercise that identified him as the most qualified candidate who had also scored the highest in the examination amongst all qualified candidates for the office.
“President Bola Tinubu expects the new Auditor-General to justify the confidence reposed in him and to live up to the high expectations that Nigerians have concerning the execution of the Renewed Hope Agenda of his administration,” the statement added.
Daily Trust had reported how the failure of the federal government to appoint a substantive Auditor-General for the Federation (AuGF) hurt Nigeria’s efforts in auditing ministries, departments and agencies of government.
It also grounded operations of the public accounts of both chambers of the National Assembly because the reports of the AuGF, which form the bulk of the job of the committees, have not been filed for three consecutive years: 2020, 2021 and 2022.
The development made it impossible for the government to know the true state of public finances in the various MDAs.
The position of Auditor-General for the Federation became vacant on September 7, 2022, after the retirement of the then substantive AuGF, Aghughu Adolphus.
