The Auditor-General for the Federation, Adolphus Aghughu, has said the forensic audit of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government will commence next week.
He said the audits would be conducted by the 21 newly-trained forensic examiners in the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation.
Aghughu disclosed this on Monday while addressing journalists at the inauguration of the OAuGF forensic auditing laboratory and the presentation of certificates to the first batch of the trained forensic auditors in Abuja.
“In the next one week, the trainees will be on the field to carry out minimum of five forensic audits in MDAs in the country, that is the significance of their training,” he said.
Speaking on the relevance of the 21 trained forensic auditors, the AuGF said the auditors would enable the growth of the OAuGF as their newly-acquired skills set would meet a crucial need in the society.
While congratulating the trainees on the completion of the two-week programme, the AuGF also urged them to be law-abiding and adhere to the principles guiding the agency.
He added, “It is unique because the trend today is that even when you do the normal auditing, when you want to get an answer with evidence that will even stand court prosecution, you look in the direction of forensic auditing. It is not only just audit evidence for the National Assembly; it is equally evidence for prosecution of culprits.”
The Information, Communications and Technology Consultant to the OAuGF, Dr Jimson Olufuye, said the new laboratory was equipped with advanced ICT tools to enable the forensic auditors to effectively carryout their assigned jobs.