Office of Auditor-General may lose allocation as senate suspends budget defence

The Nigerian Senate has suspended the 2025 budget defence for the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (OAGF), raising concerns that the office may receive zero allocation for the year.

The Senate had set Wednesday, January 22, 2025, as the deadline for all budget defences.

The suspension followed a disappointing appearance by the Auditor-General, S.K. Chira, and his team before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts.

Committee Chairman Senator Ahmed Wadada expressed frustration over Chira’s lack of preparedness, noting that he could not adequately address questions regarding the 2024 budget performance of his office.

Adding to the senators’ discontent was the discovery that the budget documents presented by Chira’s team were different from those given to committee members, creating confusion and further undermining the presentation.

Wadada described the situation as unacceptable but hinted that the office might still have an opportunity to return for appraisal. “We are disappointed, but there may still be a chance for the office to defend its budget if they prepare adequately,” he stated.

He said, “It is left for the Auditor General for the Federation to go get prepared and return, even in two hours now that he has been told that Wednesday is the deadline.

“He is the Auditor General auditing government agencies; Senate Public Accounts Committee is statutorily empowered to audit his office.”

(PoliticsNigeria)