The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has warned that continued underfunding of the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAuGF) could weaken oversight functions and worsen corruption in the public sector.
The committee issued the caution in Abuja while reviewing the 2026 budget proposal for the Auditor-General at the National Assembly, expressing concern over what it described as insufficient financial allocation to the office.
The proposed sum of N15.88 billion represents about 0.027 per cent of the N58.4 trillion Federal Government budget for the year. Lawmakers argued that the allocation is grossly inadequate considering the office’s constitutional mandate.
The Auditor-General is responsible for auditing more than 1,000 ministries, departments, agencies and other government-funded institutions across the country, in addition to Nigeria’s foreign missions.
Committee Chairman Bamidele Salam said it was unrealistic to expect effective oversight of a N58.4 trillion national budget with such limited resources. He noted that financial constraints in previous years significantly hampered the office’s operations.
According to Salam, only five out of nearly 100 Nigerian foreign missions were audited due to funding shortfalls, while just four per cent of the office’s capital allocation was released last year.
A breakdown of the 2026 proposal shows N5.3 billion earmarked for personnel costs, N5.6 billion for overhead expenses and N4.8 billion for capital projects. The committee stressed that capital funding is crucial for upgrading audit technology and strengthening institutional capacity.
Lawmakers also referenced international best practices set by the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), which recommend that audit bodies be granted independent, secure and adequate funding to operate without interference.
The committee reiterated that budgetary autonomy for the Auditor-General’s office — including the ability to present its estimates directly to the legislature — is vital to safeguarding transparency and accountability in public financial management.
