On Wednesday, the House of Representatives called on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to immediately appoint a permanent Auditor-General for the Area Councils, as required by law. The resolution came after a motion was adopted during the Public Accounts Committee’s resumed hearing, where the committee noted that the absence of a substantive Auditor-General had hindered the signing and submission of audited accounts, as mandated by the constitution.
The Acting Auditor-General for the Area Councils, Abdullahi Salihu, presented before the committee, and Chairman Bamidele Salam emphasized the need for the committee’s intervention. Salam compared the situation to when the office of the Auditor-General for the Federation was vacant for two years under the previous administration, which led to delayed audit reports. He suggested that the committee write to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory to address the delay in appointing a substantive Auditor-General.
The motion was proposed by Obordor Mitema (PDP, Bayelsa) and seconded by Usman Bala. Abdullahi Salihu explained that many of the infractions were from previous administrations, as he has only been in an acting capacity for six months. These infractions included the failure to submit audited financial reports for 2023-2024, non-remittance of pension deductions, and the non-submission of available audited reports to the committee.
Billy Osawaru (APC, Edo) urged the committee to apply legal action to address these infractions. A five-member sub-committee, led by Tochukwu Okere, was formed to thoroughly investigate the issue and provide recommendations. Other members of the sub-committee include Ajiya Abdulrahman, Mandara Usman, Mauruff Adebayo, and Mohammed Bargaja.
The meeting was attended by the chairmen of the Abuja Municipal Area Council, Christopher Zakka Maikalangu, and Bwari Area Council, John Gabaya, along with the vice chairmen from Kuje and Kwali Area Councils.
