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Knocks as Auditor-General budgets N1.7bn for cars, N113m for directors’ ‘orthopedic’ chairs

THE 2025 budget of the Auditor-General of the Federation has raised eyebrows and attracted knocks from the general public. This is because the office set aside N1.737 billion for the purchase of 25 audit operational vehicles and five buses. Nigerians wonder why government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) purchase vehicles every year.

They are also appalled that N640.467 million was earmarked for laptops and 25 desktop computers by the Auditor-General’s office. One financial analyst said he was amazed that nearly all government MDAs, including the chief auditing agency, have provisions for computers every year.

The Auditor-General of the Federation’s office also set aside N112.506 million for the “purchase of ergonomically orthopedic chairs and office tables for directors and directors officers.” The word “ergonomically” is an adverb that illustrates something “relating or designed for efficiency and comfort in the working environment,” according to the Oxford Dictionary. On the other hand, “orthopedic chairs are designed to give proper support to your spine and body to ensure you sit in the correct position,” says Recliner Factory, a British furniture creator. But this has attracted knocks from financial experts, with one asking whether “the Auditor-General of the Federation’s office is a hospital.”

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The office also earmarked N208.188 million for “furnishing of head office and 36 state offices.” The budget has equally attracted more criticisms as N257.702 million was set aside for what the office chose to call “governance institutional reforms specialised audit environments.” Some have also picked holes in the N201.803 million earmarked for air conditioners.

The office will also spend N2.114 billion on local and international travels and N121.321 million on the maintenance of office buildings and residential quarters. Also, fuelling of office generators and vehicles will cost N356.652 million of public funds, meaning that nearling one million naira is to be spent on fuelling genertors and office vehicles every day.

The Auditor-General of the Federation’s office is also criticised for setting aside N158.203 million for welfare packages of staff members, who are civil servants, and for earmarking N25.9 million for cleaning and fumigation.

To conduct promotion exercise, the Auditor-General’s office budgeted N82.863 million. Furthermore, financial, legal and medical consulting will cost N533.543 million of public funds this year, with miscellanous expenses, which include meals and refreshment, honorarium, publicity and advertisement and sporting activities, among others, costing N516.806 million of taxpayers’ money.

READ ALSO: Knocks as Zenith Bank grants N3.5bn loans to mgt staff at 4% interest rate

Electricity will cost the Auditor-General of the Federation’s office N322.463 million while “monitoring and evaluation” will gulp N192.364 million.

In general, the office will spend N15.801 billion this year in total, but more than one-thirds (37 percent) of the money will go to the payment of salaries and maintenance of office personnel. Allowances and social contributions will take N2.371 billion while financial charges will cost N106.520 million.

Knocks as analysts querry budget

Four financial analysts who spoke with Economy Post criticised the budget, wondering why an auditing office, which should show an example, is being “recklessly wasteful.”

A financial analyst, Mr Simon Uguru, said the budget of the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation “shows why Nigeria will not make any headway soon.”

“First and foremost, what is the meaning of “ergonomcally orthopedic chairs and office tables for directors and directors officers?” Then, you are devoting N112.5 million just to buy chairs for directors. Are dictetors in other ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) using the same type of chairs? If other MDAs insert that in their budgets, is the Auditor-General not expected to query it and ask them to go for ordinary chairs because the office is not a hospital? But when this is coming from the office that should audit others, then there is a problem

Another analyst, Ms Chioma Ani, wondered why government MDAs buy vehicles and computers every year, noting that the Budget Office of the Federation should do better.

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“Why does the Auditor-General need N1.7 billion to buy vehicles?Where are the old vehicles? Have they been auctioned or did the past admnistration go with the vehicles bought with public funds?” she asked.

“I expected the Budget Office of the Federation to interrogate this, and I expected the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices & Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to have more than a passing interest in annual budgets of MDAs,” she added.

Furthermore, one accountant wondered why line items such as “monitoring and evaluation of capital projects nationwide,” which will cost N192.36 million in the Auditor-General’s office, is found in the budgets of other MDAs.

“There is so much duplication of line items in our annual budgets. Sometimes, more than 20 MDAs insert the same line item in their separate budgets and they end up getting the money. This is quite disturbing and should worry anybody who wants this nation to make progress.”

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