The Nigerian Senate has suspended the 2025 budget defence of the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation (OAGF).
This decision, which came just a day before the January 22nd deadline for all budget defence sessions, raises concerns about the potential exclusion of the Auditor General’s Office from the final budget allocations.
The Senate had set January 22, 2025, as the cutoff for budget defences to allow the Committee on Appropriation sufficient time to consolidate reports from various committees.
However, during the session with the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Senator Ahmed Wadada, the Auditor General, S.K. Chira, and his team were asked to leave due to a lack of preparation and inconsistencies in their documents.
Reports indicate that Chira struggled to address questions regarding the 2024 budget performance of his office.
Tensions heightened when it was discovered that the budget document Chira was referencing during the session differed from the copies provided to committee members. This discrepancy added to the committee’s dissatisfaction and prompted the suspension of the proceedings.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Senator Wadada noted, “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.”
