Buhari urged to appoint most senior director as next Accountant-General of Federation

President Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to ensure that the most senior director in the poll of directors in the ministry of finance is allowed to act as accountant-general of the federation (AGF).

The demand was made by the Civil Society Groups for Good Governance (CSGGG) in an open letter to the Nigerian leader, signed by its president, Ogakwu Dominic.

The tenure of the Acting AGF, Sylva Okolieaboh, is expected to end before Buhari leaves office.

The CSGGG in the letter, advised Buhari to ensure that the most senior director is in charge pending the recruitment of a substantive AGF as provided for in the pubic service rule.

Part of the letter read: ‘’The position of Civil Society Organizations on this matter is that the outgoing acting AGF should hand over to the most senior director of finance and account in the pool of directors from the ministry of finance in line with extant regulations to remedy this breach of the PSR by the Office of the Head of Service.

‘’Our position is predicated upon the provisions of the public service rules which states that, “pending the appointment of a substantive Head of Extra-Ministerial Department/Director-General/CEO of Parastatals, Agency, Commission and Government-owned Company, the outgoing Chief Executive Officer must hand over to the next most senior officer of the establishment, as long as the officer does not have any pending disciplinary matter.

‘’The most senior officer in this context would be the most senior director of finance and administration (DFA), therefore the civil society community of Nigeria hereby patriotically urges your highly revered office to wade into the recruitment process of the next AGF, to ensure there’s no violation of legal provisions, in order to forestall unnecessary waste of taxpayers’ money and resources in post-appointment litigations.’’

The CSGGG noted that Nigeria is in a state of financial emergency, and only a Nigerian with a proven track record in revenue generation, expertise in financial administration, and management can rescue the country.

”That is why it is incumbent on the Head of Service to recruit the most senior director of finance and administration in that establishment, who parades all the requisite experiences, personality and checks all the right boxes as an astute and proactive exchequer of our treasury.

”We assure you that if you do this for Nigerians, history will be kind to you, and posterity will remember your integrity and count it for righteousness,” the group added.