* Calls on NASS to accelerate passage of Federal Audit Bill
By Chesa Chesa
A civic organization fostering accountability in Nigeria, the Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI) has called on the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (OAuGF) to immediately release audit reports on the accounts of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) for the fiscal years 2020 to 2023.
This follows over four months of silence after an official Freedom of Information request was submitted on February 11, 2025, requesting access to the reports, in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2011.
A statement issued by PLSI on Friday noted that audit reports are critical instruments for holding public institutions accountable and ensuring that public resources are used efficiently, effectively, and in accordance with financial regulations.
Although section 301(c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) empowers the Auditor-General for the Federation to audit the accounts of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), the report of the Auditor-General on the FCT accounts for 2020 to 2023 are not available to the public notwithstanding the fact that such reports are public documents, the statement observed.
It further declared that “we had since February 2025 – four months ago written to the Auditor-General for the Federation whose respon-sibility it is to audit accounts of the FCT and despite the clear legal provisions of the FOI Act and Nigeria’s commitment to openness and transparency, the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation has not responded to the request or provide access to the requested audit reports.
“This raises serious concerns about the culture of opacity around public finance management, particularly at a time when public trust in government institutions is at an all-time low. It is even more concerning given recent developments in which the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, defended spending ₦39 billion of public funds on the renovation of the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja – a project that has attracted wide criticism due to its cost and lack of contracting information.
“Also, the Federal Audit Service Bill which is meant to reform how we account for public revenue and expenditure has been abandoned at the National Assembly. Previous governments refused to sign the Bill into law and the current Senate has also failed to give concurrence to it despite passage by the House of Representatives since October 2023.”
Executive Director of PLSI, Olusegun Elemo, spoke further on the development, saying that “it is interesting to know that the same National Assembly has hurriedly concluded legislative activities on the tax reform bills and transmitted them to the President for assent.
“Conversely, it is absolutely frustrating that public ocials can be spending so much money and looking to tax the people even more with no responsibility to account for the money. Using the obsolete Audit Ordinance Act of 1956 to account for public funds in 2025 is dangerous to our democracy, and it is unacceptable.”
PLSI reiterated that the audit functions are not an afterthought, and audit reports are not confidential memos for public officials only.
“They are public interest documents – essential for evaluating how well the promises embed-ded in budgets have translated into actual delivery and impact.
“We therefore demand the release of the FCT audit reports in line with the provisions of the FOI Act and passage of the Federal Audit Service Bill currently at the National Assembly.PLSI urges citizens, civil society organizations, the media, and development partners to join the call for greater transparency in the audit process at national and subnational levels.
“If we must prevent corruption and improve delivery of services to citizens, audits must matter to everyone”, the organization concluded.
