The Auditor-General of Bauchi State, Ishaku Yankari, has clarified issues arising from an online publication captioned “Ghost Vouchers,” describing the report as misleading and not reflective of the findings contained in the official audit report.
Speaking to journalists, Ishaku Yankari explained that in standard audit terminology, the recognized concept is “ghost payees,” which refers to fictitious individuals or entities created for the purpose of fraudulent payments. He stressed that the term “ghost vouchers,” as used in the publication, is neither known nor accepted in auditing practice and therefore misrepresents the observations made by his office.
The Auditor-General further stated that the publication wrongly identified certain officers as “accounting officers.” He clarified that, by law and established public service regulations, accounting officers are statutory positions typically held by Permanent Secretaries of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), as well as other duly designated officers. He emphasized that the Chief of Staff to the Government is not an accounting officer of any MDA.
According to him, a comprehensive review of payment records confirms that all transactions in question involved legitimate payees, were supported by properly signed payment vouchers, and were executed in line with approved budgetary provisions. He added that no payment voucher bears the name of Dr. Aminu Gamawa, contrary to claims made in the publication.
The Auditor-General noted that the constitutional responsibility of his office is to make professional observations and report findings based on available records, stressing that the Office of the State Auditor-General neither issues indictments nor assigns criminal liability.
On the issue of pension arrears, Ishaku Yankari acknowledged the ongoing efforts of the present administration to ensure that pensioners receive their rightful gratuities. He disclosed that following the submission of a consultant’s report, His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Muhammad, approved a comprehensive pensioners’ verification exercise. He said the exercise is currently ongoing and has been conducted smoothly with minimal inconvenience to pensioners, noting that audit staff have also visited pensioners who are hospitalized or confined to their homes to ensure inclusiveness.
The Office of the State Auditor-General also expressed appreciation to the Honourable Members of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, particularly the relevant committees, for their continued cooperation and support as they work within their constitutional mandate to address audit reports in the interest of transparency, accountability, and good governance.
