The Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI), a civil society organisation focused on public accountability, has expressed concerns over the implementation of Nigeria's federal budget without a dedicated audit law. The organisation notes that the Federal Government is implementing a N68 trillion budget in 2026 without an audit law, 10 years after it began advocating for stronger public audit systems. PLSI argues that this gap weakens the country's public financial accountability system.
PLSI made the call as it marked its 10th anniversary, renewing its call for the passage of a Federal Audit Law that would empower Nigeria's Supreme Audit Institution, the National Assembly's Public Accounts Committees, and other accountability institutions to safeguard public resources and improve service delivery. The organisation also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to act on the Federal Audit Service Bill and provide a modern legal framework for public auditing.
According to PLSI, the 2024 Federal Audit Report on Non-Compliance/Internal Control Weaknesses in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies identified over N1.39 trillion in financial irregularities and control failures across federal institutions. The findings included unsupported payments, unremitted revenues, irregular contracts, and other weaknesses in internal controls. PLSI emphasised that the challenge is no longer just about identifying financial irregularities but about building an audit system that consistently delivers fiscal guardrails, recovery, consequences, and institutional reform.
At the subnational level, PLSI reported that accountability remains weak, with only five of Nigeria's 36 states having implemented financial autonomy for their Offices of the Auditor-General. Additionally, 12 states have established administrative independence for the offices, while 18 states failed to publish audit reports on state accounts in the 2024 financial year. PLSI also noted that 21 states did not publish reports on local government accounts.
PLSI further stated that only three states produced standard performance audit reports on government programmes, projects, or policies, representing an improvement from 2023 when no state conducted such audits. The organisation emphasised the need for performance auditing to become a major focus of accountability at national and subnational levels, allowing citizens and government institutions to assess whether public resources were properly spent and achieved the desired results.
The organisation urged Public Accounts Committees to strengthen oversight by ensuring timely review of audit reports and enforcing audit recommendations. PLSI noted that only three of the 36 states currently have effective Public Accounts Committees, according to its 2025 Subnational Audit Efficacy Index. PLSI also reported some progress in public financial transparency, with 18 states publishing Citizens' Accountability Reports in 2024, compared to 11 in 2023 and eight in 2022.
PLSI called for greater scrutiny of political candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections, urging candidates to present costed manifestos showing their plans, how they would achieve them, and how much they would cost. The organisation also urged citizens to reject vote buying, vote selling, intimidation, violence, disinformation, and divisive politics, while calling on political parties and candidates to focus on issues, policies, and development outcomes in their campaigns.
Key points
- PLSI raises concerns over Nigeria's budget implementation without an audit law, citing a significant gap in public accountability.
- Only five states have implemented financial autonomy for their Offices of the Auditor-General, while 18 states failed to publish audit reports on state accounts.
- PLSI calls for performance auditing to become a major focus of accountability at national and subnational levels.
