Auditing and Corruption in Nigeria: A Review of the Legal Weight of the Audit Act of 1956

Abstract

This paper proceeds on the proposition that the Nigerian Audit Act of 1956, which is the only extant statutory provisions for auditing and reporting on Federal Government financial transactions is weightless both in arresting corruption and in the prevention of wastes in the use of public financial resources. The paper argues that the Act is not punitive enough to discourage official corruption and that with increasing sophistry with which corrupt acts are perpetrated in government, it is completely bereft of the legal teeth to bite and make appropriable impact on the public desire to promote transparency and accountability. The paper analyses the important provisions of the Act and suggests what is considers remedial provisions that should be inserted in the Act by way of an amendment to make it better positioned to be used as an instrument for curbing corruption and wastes in the public sector.