It wasn’t us: Auditor-General’s office disowns alleged N123 billion fraud report indicting Oronsaye

by Isi Esene

The Office of the Auditor General of the Federation (OAuGF) has dissociated itself from media reports alleging that a report from that office indicted a former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Stephen Oronsaye of complicity in a N123 billion Naira fraud.

In a full page disclaimer published on Friday, September 19, 2014, the Office of the Auditor General described the report first published by Premium Times and later ThisDay newspaper and Daily Trust, as an embodiment of mischief and misrepresentation of facts of the matter.

Dissociating itself from the said report, which it further described as malicious and character assassinating, the Office of the AuGF condemned the intention of its authors.

According to the disclaimer signed by the management of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation, that office does not have the locus standi to forward any audit report to the President because the Office is not permitted by the Constitution to do so.

Citing Section 85 (5) of the Constitution, the disclaimer explained that the Auditor-General for the Federation is constitutionally mandated to forward audit reports to the National Assembly and not the Executive.

Furthermore, the disclaimer noted that “the purported ‘Report’, which has so many misrepresentations (in the publication) was actually audit observation made by the audit team that conducted the audit exercise, which will require the responses of the auditee after which audit opinion may be drawn up.

“Besides, no mention of individual names was made in the audit observations, which were forwarded to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, for comments,” it added.

Frowning at the publications, which it said are capable of misguiding Nigerians on the expenditure profile of Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, the OAuGF said till date the office had not forwarded any report in respect of the alleged Pension audit to the National Assembly. Rather, it said audit observations regarding the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation had been forwarded to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation for comments.

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