Senate Freezes 2025 Budget Defence for Auditor General Amidst Scandal

The Nigerian Senate has suspended the scheduled 2025 budget defence for the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation (OAGF), creating a major roadblock in the approval process. With the deadline for budget defences set for Wednesday, 22nd January 2025, the delay raises concerns that the OAGF may face zero funding allocations.

The suspension came after a troubling encounter between the Senate Committee on Public Accounts and the Auditor General, S.K. Chira. The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Ahmed Wadada, ordered Chira and his team to leave the session due to their lack of preparation and disorganization in handling the crucial budget documents.

Chira appeared before the Committee with incomplete answers regarding the performance of the OAGF’s 2024 budget and failed to respond adequately to questions from lawmakers. The situation escalated when it was discovered that the documents the Auditor General was using differed from those distributed to Committee members, raising further suspicions.

In a bid to quell the growing concerns, Senator Wadada addressed the media after the meeting, stating, “It is now up to the Auditor General to get prepared and return, even in the next two hours, as Wednesday remains the final deadline.” He stressed that the Public Accounts Committee, by law, has the authority to audit the Auditor General’s office just as he audits government agencies.

With the deadline looming, the fate of the OAGF’s budget now hangs in the balance, and the Auditor General’s office faces the risk of significant funding setbacks if preparation issues persist.