Lagos Speaker Charges Auditors On Transparency

Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji has charged auditors working with the government on the need to maintain transparency and accountability to enable government account for its management of public funds.

Ikuforji made this plea at the second annual auditors’ retreat held in Peninsular Resort, Lekki, Lagos, southwest Nigeria.

According to him, auditing done regularly would put everyone on their feet.

He stressed the need for constant training and retraining of auditors in order to keep them in tune with recent trends in the society.

Ikuforiji was represented at the event by the Deputy Speaker, Kolawole Taiwo.

In his speech, the Lagos State Auditor-General, Mr. David Sunmoni, said revelations during the protest against fuel subsidy removal exposed greater public awareness and the need for auditors to exhibit greater probity and transparency

“The demand on and expectations of auditors-general are now more formidable; this is because we play such a vital role in holding the government to account for stewardship of public funds and in helping to ensure the transparency of government operations,” he stated.

Sunmoni challenged the auditors to embrace integrity in the discharge of their responsibilities.

“This training affords us a golden opportunity to review and assess our performance in the year just ended and plan for improved performance this year,” he said.

The Auditor General stated that the United Nations General Assembly had in December 2011 adopted resolution A/66/209 promoting the efficiency, accountability, effectiveness and transparency of public administration by strengthening Supreme Audit Institutions, SAI.

He added that with the resolution, the General Assembly now recognised that SAI could accomplish their task objectively and effectively only if they are independent of the audited entity and are protected against outside influence.

—Kazeem Ugbodaga