By Seyi Babalola
Nigerian media stakeholders have lamented what they called lack of accountability in the country’s social and political institutions.
They also said they were piffed by the fact that journalists were not investigating the finances of public institutions and public officeholders.
According to them, “audit reports are mandatory on all levels of government because they are produced by and for the governments.
“By reporting on these statutory audit reports, the media can strengthen public accountability and ensure that governments are held responsible for their actions.”
At a media roundtable on ‘The Nexus Between Media and Government Accountability’, organized by FrontFoot Media Initiative and Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism in Lagos, they urged journalists to transform audit queries by Auditors-General in into Freedom of Information requests.
They said that audit reporting was a key instrument for lifting the country out of “long-standing issues such as corruption, poverty, and underdevelopment.”
Speaking at the event, Editor-in-chief of Century Media, Mr Sully Abu, said that Nigeria was at a tipping point, and warned that if the problem was not addressed, everything may go wrong.
“The issue we should be looking at is how did we get here. Why are we here? If we look at that, then we might find out a way to get out of the mess we are in averring that the single major problem of Nigeria was the lack of accountability at almost every level.
“In the First Republic, there used to be accountability. In those days, civil servants could look the premier in the eye and refuse to do a particular thing. Currently, governors are the single most destabilising element in our nation. And nobody holds them to account. Governors decide who gets into the legislature and decide who is impeached.
“They are either in Abuja or abroad. So, we (FrontFoot Media Initiative) are looking at how governance can be held to account.
The procedures are there, the laws are there and the institutions are there. However, they are not being applied.
“Therefore, we zeroed in on the issue of audit reports, auditors-general reports because the Auditors-General are constitutionally mandated to probe state governments’ performance, concerning how far they have gone, how projects are done, why they are not done, and the like.”
Seasoned media professional, Mr. Sonala Olumhense, said that “the issue of accountability, which Wole Soyinka introduced as early as 1922, remains as relevant as ever”.
Referencing Sections 125 and 126 of the Nigerian Constitution, he discussed the crucial role of the Auditor-General, stating that the officer has the authority to undertake periodic checks of all government-certified corporations, commissions, authorities, and agencies, including all persons and bodies established by any law of the House of Assembly of the state.
He highlighted several critical challenges, such as the watering down of findings by the Accountant General and the lack of transparency in the House of Assembly’s records.
He raised concerns about what transpires after the Auditor-General submits reports, pointing to the apparent lack of follow-up actions or accountability measures being enforced. He stressed the need for more stringent oversight and clearer procedures to ensure that these reports lead to tangible outcomes.
Speaking on why the media cannot interrogate audit reports, the President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), and the Editor of Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Eze Anaba, highlighted the significant challenges facing the media industry.
He explained that the media is often a victim of macro-level issues, making it difficult to retain journalists in many states.
Since most reporters work for state governments, he said that they frequently depend on these same governments for access to reports, which creates a problematic and compromising situation.
He said: “It is almost difficult for journalists to have a credible audit report from the states.
“The Auditor-General exists at the pleasure of the governor and will not issue a report that irritates the governor, not to talk of offending him.
“State finance is the personal finance of the governor. At some point in this democracy, a governor lived in Abuja, he never went to his state.
“After federal allocation, he goes to the state, shares the money, and goes back to Abuja.
“Media is a victim to macro issues. It is almost difficult now to keep reporters in a state due to financial constraints as most of the journalists today work for the state governments.
“This issue we’re dealing with is a fundamental problem. The truth is that critical audit interrogation, especially that of our subnational, is almost impossible. The problem we are in is beyond audit reporting. Studying our democracy involves more than audit interrogation, we also have to look at auditing other institutions”.
Mr Emeka Izeze, former Managing Director of The Guardian Newspapers, shed light on the subject, stating that without the press, Nigeria would not exist and that the thought inspired them to launch an effort focused on audit reporting.
