Senate seeks comprehensive audit of NIMASA, NPA ,NNPC

Abiola Seun |

The Senate has demanded a comprehensive auditing of accounts of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Authority (NIMASA) and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) among others.

The Chairman, Senate Public Affairs Committee, Senator Mathew Urhoghide, made the call yesterday during the 2021 budget defence of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation.

He demanded that the AuGF should ensure thorough auditing of the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the Nigerian Ports Authority, and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Authority among others.

He alluded that the big agencies are being left off the hook as they have financial muscle to “settle” the AuGF’s office, quite unlike the smaller agencies who bear the selective auditing brunt.

He said, “You claim that you are auditing the accounts of the federation and you won’t touch the accounts of the NNPC, NPA, NIMASA among others.

“You will remove all the big spenders from your watch list but you will focus on smaller agencies. That is what has been happening from 2015 till date.

“We don’t want to be seeing these smaller agencies of government that you are focusing on because they can’t settle well. We are tired of seeing audit queries involving municipal councils,leaving behind the big agencies.