Auditor-General’s report: An indictment on Buhari’s administration

One of the greatest campaign promises the present administration used to woo Nigerians during the 2015 general elections was the promise to fight corruption. Ironically, one of the biggest flaws of this administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari is financial improprieties, the very demon it promised to cast out. (On the same pedestrian is President Buhari’s disregard for the rules of law). This much was confirmed by the recent damning report of the nation’s Auditor-General, Anthony MkpeAyine.

The report for the year ended December 2016 shows that more Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) under this present administration have refused to submit their financial statements, as required by law, than any other previous administration since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, the worst being the first two years into this administration. Before President Buhari took over in 2015, it was in 2014 that Nigeria recorded the highest number of noncompliant MDAs, which stood at 148.

Cumulatively, for fifteen years, from 1999 to 2014, a total of 550 MDAs defaulted. But two year into this administration (2015 and 2016) saw unimaginable number of 538 MDAs who did not comply with the provisions of the Financial Regulations (FR) 3210(v) regarding submission of audited financial statements. This number could double by the time 2017 and 2018 report will be made available.

This is alarming. The number of MDAs unedited or poorly edited means a huge amount of money gone unaccounted for, implying a huge financial loss to the state. Before 2015, Nigerians would not have imagined that three years into this administration, Nigeria could still have a greater number of MDAs spending public money without proper accountability.

Sadly, this is happening under President Buhari’s nose as the head of the executive arm of government. If President Buhari could not control what goes on in his immediate ‘family’, how would he have curbed the financial obscenities in other arms of the government and the society in general – a promise he solemnly made to Nigerians?

Even more worrisome is the fact that since the indicting report was released, the President and the presidency has kept mute. His silence over the issue does not represent the president and the presidency in good light. It is a far cry from the picture painted of the president during the campaign, of an upright, incorruptible man that will ensure strict accountability of all arms of government and ministries, departments and agencies of government.

Rather than work to enthrone accountability, the government has rather concerned itself with blaming the past administration for everything that goes wrong while doing nothing to enthrone proper accountability or even sustain the existing practice despite its many flaws.
The ball is in the court of the presidency right now. To be taken seriously, it must take strong action against erring MDAs and ensure all agencies comply with the law.