Public Sector Audit and Financial Accountability in Nigeria: An Evaluation of the Auditor-General’s Reports, 2015-2024

Public sector auditing in Nigeria is aimed at ensuring financial transparency and accountability in government and promoting good governance. This study sourced data from Auditor-General’s reports (2015-2024) to ascertain the state of public financial management in Nigeria. In this study, we applied qualitative content analysis to obtain and analyze data. The data used in this study was derived from various sources including; legislative committee hearings, reports from the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission, research studies and media investigations on the responsiveness of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to audit queries. The study also established that political interference, inadequate funding, delayed audit processes, weak enforcement mechanisms and limited public access to audit reports continue to plague the county governments and hinder them from achieving their intended purpose of ensuring accountability. Although the government has implemented several measures to curb the leakages such as the Treasury Single Account (TSA), Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), the problem still persists, which shows that the issue is much deeper than it appears. This study recommends that there should be an increased audit enforcement, enhanced independence of the institutions, modernization of the financial systems and increased public awareness and participation.