The procedural groundwork has been laid by the Senate for the establishment of a tribunal that will be responsible for the stringent implementation of the Audit report after it has been approved by both chambers of the National Assembly.
The importance of establishing an Audit Report Tribunal was brought to the forefront of discussion in the Senate after a bill that was sponsored by the Senate’s Chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Mathew Urhoghide (PDP Edo South), was taken up for consideration and ultimately approved for reading in a later session.
Urhoghide, who was leading the debate on the bill that sought for an Act to provide for strict implementation of the National Assembly recommendations on Annual Federal Audit Reports and for related matters, stated that the proposed legislation was extremely necessary for the effectiveness of the fight against corruption. He made this statement while he was leading the debate on the bill.
According to him, in order for the war against corruption to be successful, the findings and recommendations made in the Audit report need to be strictly implemented or enforced.
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He stated that it “is not enough for the National Assembly as provided for in section 88 of the 1999 constitution to expose corruption through required investigation but go further, to ensure strict implementation of resolutions made.” “It is not enough for the National Assembly as provided for in section 88 of the 1999 constitution to expose corruption through required investigation”
Similarly, the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, stated in his remarks that the missing link of strict implementation of resolutions taken by the National Assembly on yearly audit reports must be addressed. “The proposed legislation is very necessary. Something along the lines of a tribunal is required in order to ensure that recommendations that are used to inform the prosecution of offenders are carried out in a stringent manner.
“A Public Hearing on this bill must be thoroughly conducted on how the Tribunal would be put in place as a potent way of fighting corruption,” he said. “This is the only way to ensure that this bill is properly considered.”
