Part Four: The Independence of the Auditor-General

Every government likes accountability in principle.

The real test is whether it still likes accountability when the questions become uncomfortable.

That is why this series has never really been about two Auditors-General, one administration, or one political party. It is about the kind of institutions we want to build in Edo State.

A strong Auditor-General should not be seen as an enemy of government.

He is part of the machinery that makes good government possible.

When public expenditure is independently examined, when waste is questioned, when value for money is tested, and when audit reports are made available for legislative and public scrutiny, government itself becomes stronger.

That is the whole idea behind institutional independence.

Independence Is Not Immunity
An independent Auditor-General is not above the law.

He can be questioned.

He can be audited.

He can be sanctioned for misconduct.

He can be removed where the Constitution and the law permit.

But the process matters.

If safeguards are written into law, those safeguards must be respected even when they are inconvenient.

Otherwise, independence becomes a slogan rather than a principle.

The danger in weakening an institution does not always appear immediately.

Today, a government may believe it has solved an administrative problem.

Tomorrow, another government may inherit the same weakened institution and use that weakness in a way nobody anticipated.

That is how institutional erosion begins. Once precedent is created, it rarely stays within the circumstances that produced it.

A future Auditor-General may hesitate before questioning a powerful ministry. Another may avoid a controversial investigation. Another may decide that professional caution is safer than professional courage.

And slowly, the watchdog becomes less of a watchdog.

The Audit Law was enacted under one administration. Its protections must survive another. That is the point.

Institutions should not belong to PDP or APC. They should belong to Edo State.

If a reform is good enough to be celebrated when one government introduces it, it should be good enough to be respected when another government takes office.

Otherwise, reforms become temporary political possessions instead of permanent public institutions.

Correcting a Decision Is Not Weakness

Governments sometimes make decisions that deserve reconsideration. There is no shame in that.

A mature government reviews, corrects and moves on. What matters is whether the law ultimately prevails.

If the current interpretation of the Audit Law is correct, government should explain it clearly and transparently.

If it is not, the decision should be reversed. Either way, the guiding principle should be institutional integrity.

The Legacy Question

Every administration eventually leaves office.

Buildings remain. Laws remain. Institutions remain. And history eventually asks a simple question:

Did those in power strengthen the institutions they inherited, or weaken them?

That is the real issue before Edo State.

An independent Auditor-General is not a threat to government. An independent Auditor-General is a protection for the public, for the Legislature, for future governments and, ultimately, for democracy itself.

Governments come and go.

Governors come and go.

Political parties rise and fall.

Institutions must remain.

And the stronger those institutions are, the stronger Edo State will be.

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