Nigerian Parliamentary Committee Presses for Timely Audit Reports to Strengthen Oversight
ABUJA — Nigeria’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House of Representatives has expressed serious concern over the persistent delay in the submission of audit reports by the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation (OAuGF), warning that the lag hampers the committee’s constitutional mandate for legislative oversight.
The committee, chaired by Hon. Bamidele Salam, made the statement following a strategic retreat held in Ghana for its members, staff, and stakeholders. The retreat aimed to review past performance and set a focused agenda for the year ahead.
Speaking at the event, Salam noted that while the committee had secured the submission of reports for 2020, 2021, and 2022 after taking office in 2023, the outstanding reports for 2023, 2024, and 2025 remain a critical gap. “By the time we came on board, we had a 2019 report that was submitted… it’s still not good enough because it’s 2026,” Salam said, highlighting the urgency.
He announced that the committee will convene a meeting with key stakeholders, including the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Auditor-General, and the Financial Reporting Council, upon returning from the retreat. The objective is to establish a definitive timeline to “ramp up the submission” of the overdue reports, with a target to substantially close the gaps by the end of the current year.
The retreat served as a platform for introspection and planning. Salam emphasized that setting clear targets and performance indices at the year’s start provides a roadmap for evaluation and strategic adjustment, ultimately driving greater productivity for the committee and the National Assembly’s work.
Deputy Chairman Hon. Jeremiah Umaru underscored the committee’s past successes in helping the government recover revenues and block financial leakages. He stressed that the 2026 agenda focuses on enhancing efficiency through deeper stakeholder engagement and internal capacity building for committee staff and members to tackle systemic leakages effectively.
Clerk of the Committee, Ogunsanya Titus, described the retreat as essential for preparation and planning. “A race where you prepare for will definitely turn out very well,” he stated, adding that the committee’s constitutional role is to ensure prudent use of public resources and hold government agencies accountable for taxpayers’ money.
Consultant Dr. Samuel Ibrahim affirmed the retreat’s timeliness, noting that training covered both technical (“hard”) and interpersonal (“soft”) skills, particularly in stakeholder management to achieve outcomes through collaborative engagement.
The PAC’s renewed push underscores the fundamental importance of timely audit reporting for fiscal transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s public finance system. The committee’s actions signal a determined effort to bridge reporting delays and reinforce its oversight function.
