The Auditor-General for the Federation, Mr. Anthony Ayine has accused the Senate of denying auditors from his office access to conduct audit on capital items supplied or executed for the National Assembly.

Ayine, who stated this in the 2017 audit report of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation alleged that all efforts made by the auditors to verify about N1.36 billion worth of supplied items were thwarted as they were denied access to the store and its records.

Ayine stressed that the implication of the unverified expenditure was that public funds might be diverted to unapproved areas while value for money might not be ascertained from such expenditure.

He maintained that the response from the management of the National Assembly to him that the stores were undergoing renovation at the time of audit was not acceptable.

While stating that his office would not accept this expenditure as a valid charge against public funds, the Auditor-General directed the Clerk of the National Assembly to account for the entire sum.

Ayine further directed the Clerk to ensure that details of the compliance should be forwarded to his office for confirmation.

“During the audit of the accounts and other related records maintained by the Senate, it was observed that verification of capital items supplied and executed for the National Assembly totalling N1,364,816,397.95 proved unsuccessful as auditors were denied access to the store and its records.

“The implication of this charge is that public funds may be diverted and value for money not ascertained from the expenditure,” the report read in part.