The 2020 Conference of Auditors-General in Nigeria in Nigeria is underway and participants who have already had two days of intensive lectures are already counting the benefits. Whilst the conference continues today, some participants spoke to our reporter on the impact of the conference and key takeaways thus far.
Mr. Ekpa Monday, a Director in the office of the Auditor-General of Local Governments, Kogi State, said he has learnt new skills including how he will carry out audit functions that impact the common man and also strive to give balanced representation of public accounts to the public.
“The account of the public is entrusted in us auditors. We are representing the masses so we will have to give a fair representation to the government to curtail corrupting. Our emphasis is on how we can become independent so we can write our reports without bias. That is why we came together as Auditors-General in Nigeria to fashion ways we can bring sanity into the audit institution” he noted.
The main thing they are asking of the government he said is to give them independence. “If we have independence, especially financial independence, we won’t have to depend on any auditee to carryout our job. We should be able to stand without bias. This is why we are also asking for the Audit Act to grant that independence we seek,” he noted.
On other challenges, he said auditors’ lives are at risk because of the nature of their job. “We are also at risk. We need to be protected from harm. Our lives are at risk and we don’t have protection because of the type of job we do,” he said.
According to him, political factors also are another stumbling block. “We are living in a society that we can’t do without the political class so we are dialoguing wish the politicians to allow us do our jobs without fear or favour” he said.
Also commenting, Mr. Abel Esiavo, the Auditor-General for Local Government’s Delta State, who also doubles as the Chairman, Conference of Auditors-General for local government’s in Nigeria said Mr. president’s speech during the opening ceremony was instructive as it had key messages for the auditors.
“On the take homes. First, we start with the President’s speech where he really talked to auditors as partners in progress in the fight against corruption” he noted.
Mr. president also suggested that “what is the propriety of audit sources if facts about corruption will come from other sources, but why not from the audit reports?” adding that the president also warned auditors against compromising.
Again, “from the papers delivered so far, we have learnt a lot. We will go back home and try as much as possible to implement what we have learnt and become change agents”.
Commenting on the situation where audit reports are turned over to the Public Accounts Committee of the federal or states houses of assemblies, and whether that process is achieving results he said “even if we see that public accounts committee are not acting timely on our reports, we must still submit our reports to them. The onus is on us to write credible reports, thought provoking reports and reports that touch on key subjects, then leave it for the public accounts committee to do the right thing” he explained.
He however also called on the public accounts committee to do their jobs so Auditors are encouraged to do more. “It is left for the public accounts committee to do their job so auditors can be encouraged to keep doing their work. They should do their own part of the work too,” he said.
On whether there are pressures on Auditors-General not to do the right thing he said there is no pressure from any quarters not to do the right thing.
However, the key challenges he noted are financing and provision of working tools for auditors. “For instance, we don’t have sufficient operational vehicles. We have difficult terrain in the Niger Delta for instance. Some of our offices even need speed boats to access them. So, we need financing and recurrent votes to pay for services we need to aid our work,” he said.
In her comments, Mrs. Franca Inok, Auditor-General for Local Governments, Cross River State said the issue of the government setting up other agencies to do almost the same thing auditors do rather than empower auditors.
“And I feel that our jobs as auditors-general is being taken away by so many other agencies that the government is creating. Rather than strengthen the ones that are already there, we keep creating new ones to duplicate duties. So, for me, what I am taking from this conference is the fact that, auditors-general across the country need to collaborate. They need to work together to strengthen the institution of audit and carryout our mandate, especially as regards the public sector,” she said.
Speaking further she said two things have struck her at the conference. “Firstly, we need to use the power that have been given us courageously and number two is that we need to engage more with the stakeholders, especially the public accounts committee. We need to work together to ensure that whatever functions that we have is collaborative to achieve the purpose,” she said.
On the agencies taking over the audit job she said, are the ICPC and the EFCC. “I don’t think they were needed if the audit institutions were strengthened to do their job. Because we have all the facts and records. The EFCC and the ICPC depend on information that come from people like us. We have the information and the constitution has empowered us to summon people, to ask questions, raise queries and submit to the legislature which has the power to go through the report and forward to the attorney general for prosecution,” she explained.
According to her, if that process was working, “we won’t need all these other originations and people will be much more careful with government expenditure. What happens is that institutions are not strengthened, then we create an EFCC or ICPC to run after people years after they have done the damage. We are here to ensure the damage is not done because some of the damages that have been done to Nigeria in past, we haven’t recovered from them,” she noted.
On whether auditors compromise she said, she can vouch for people who have been appointed auditors-general. They are really trying she said, adding that auditors are not empowered and are not financed, yet they are hated. “People doing this job don’t look like those who compromise. If you compromise, people love you, people send money to you and welcome you when they see you. But people who don’t compromise are not usually welcomed because they are usually checking everybody,” she noted.
For Mrs. Adesumbo Idiat Abolarin, the Auditor-General for Local Government, Lagos State e-auditing is one key element she is taking back.
“The area of e-auditing, is important” she said adding that the fact that we can’t do without it in this age and time is key for her. “We will ensure we step up our technical skills in that area and ensure that we comply appropriately,” she said.
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