With almost a week gone since the House of Representatives passed a resolution requesting the Federal Government to lay the Forensic Audit Report on NNPC missing $20billion as prepared by PriceWaterCoopers, PWC, without any positive response, the House Committee on Public Accounts has again made a request to the Federal Government to avail the committee of the report to enable it do its constitutional duty as enshrined under Section 85 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic.
In a press conference at the Committee Room of Public Accounts in Abuja, Hon Solomon Adeola with members of his committee said several weeks has passed and several demands made demanding for the full reports without success adding that it took a while and public outcry before snippets of the reports in a highly condensed version was released to the Press by the Auditor General.
While frowning at the role of the Ministry of Finance in the commissioning and appointment of auditors, in a report that it could also be indicted without the involvement or at least the input of the Auditor General whose office is eminently and exclusively empowered for the duty by the 1999 Constitution, Hon. Adeola said by virtue of Section 85(6) of the Constitution, the Auditor General ought not to be directed by Mr. President to deal with the report in a particular manner.
The chairman of PAC, said for some reasons yet to be uncovered, no reference whatsoever was made on the need to send the report to the National Assembly where the Public Accounts Committee is empowered and equipped to deal with it as constitutionally required adding that the PAC “hereby request that the full report on the Forensic Audit by PWC, which must include the initial Draft Report, Executive Summary, management/internal Control Letters” be forwarded to the national Assembly not later than one week.
Signed:
Chief Kayode Odunaro
Media Adviser to Hon. Solomon Adeola.
25th February, 2015.
