By Yahaya Hamza, Abuja

A major crisis is brewing in the office of the Auditor General of the Federation( AGF) following moves by the Federal Civil Service Commission to appoint a new acting Auditor General of the Federation through the backdoor, investigations by DAILY ASSET revealed.

The present occupant of the office, Adolphus Aghughu is due to retire from public service September 7, in compliance with the extant civil service rules having attained 60 years of age.

DAILY ASSET checks revealed that based on the extant Federal Civil Service Rules, an acting AGF should be appointed out of the three most senior Directors in the office.
The nominal role of the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation sighted by DAILY ASSET showed that the three most senior Directors in the office are Onwudili A.

O(Delta); Gabriel S. Gbayan(Benue) and O.A Ogundowo( Ondo).
Names of the three most senior Directors were said to have been recommended to the Presidency for appointment in acting capacity into the office being vacated since the process to appoint a substantive occupant to the position was yet to be consummated.
Investigations revealed that Section 86(2)of the 1999 Constitution as amended expressly vests the powers to appoint an acting AGF in the President.
The section states Categorically that: “The Power to appoint persons to act in the office of the Auditor – General shall vest in the President”.
However, in a seeming contravention of this constitutional provision, the Federal Civil Service Commission on September 6, 2022 was said to have unilaterally appointed an acting AGF, Julius Isiuku.
In a circular with reference No: FCSC/ PS/31/Vol.II/283 dated September 6, 2022 with the title ” Retirement of Auditor General For the Federation,” the Commission announced Mr Julius Michael Isiuku as the acting AGF.
“I am directed to congratulate you on your service to the nation and wish you successful retirement life.
“As you retire on Wednesday, 7th September, 2022, you are kindly directed to handover to the most senior Director, Mr Julius Michael Isiuku to oversee the affairs of the office of the Auditor General for the Federation pending the appointment of an Auditor General of the Federation”, the letter signed by Dr Mary Ogbe, Permanent Secretary of the Commission said.
The appointment is now generating a major crisis as the out- going AGF, Aghughu may have refused to handover to Isiuku on the grounds that the FCSC was not only incompetent to make the appointment, but also that Isiuku is the 5th on the Nominal Roll and therefore, not among the three most senior Directors.

It was learnt that the Office of the Head of Federal Civil Service of the Federation had in a letter dated 18th July, 2022 with reference No: HCSF/ SPSO/ ODD/ E&WP/ 64421/ 166 addressed to the AGF thrashed out the issue of seniority of Directors of the office.
The letter titled ” Re: Intervention on the Determination of Seniority Among the Directors” signed by BOC Omogo, Director (Organisation Design and Development) for the Head of Service stated as follows:
“I am directed to refer to your letter Ref. NO. GEN/EMAD/ CORR/ 2020/ 55 dated 28th March 2022 on the above subject and convey the reviewed seniority list amongst the five Directors(Audit) in your office as follows:
(1)Mr Andrew Ogochukwu Onwudili, (2)Mr Shirwa Gabriel Gbayan, (3)Mrs Adeoti Oluseyi Ogundowo,(4) Mrs Ngozi Eucharia Ugwu, (5) Mr Julius Michael Isiuku”.

It was learnt that the Civil Service Commission ignored this critical communication from the Head of Civil Service of the Federation and proceeded to make the appointment of the 5th person on the Nominal Roll.

Following this development, an obviously enraged Aghughu was said to have refused to handover the office to Isiuku saying he would not be party to the “illegal appointment”.
A source close to the out- going AGF told DAILY ASSET that Aghughu locked his office on Tuesday, September 6, a day before his scheduled retirement from the public service and left without a word.

Following this development, the workers Union was said to have joined in the controversy as it threatened to prevent anybody from “illegally occupying” the office unless approved by the President.

A member of the union, who wanted to remain anonymous told DAILY ASSET that since the outgoing AGF, Aghughu hails from Edo State(South South) just like his predecessor, Ayine A.M who hails from Cross River (South South), the Acting AGF should come from the North, saying that Mr Gabriel S. Gbayan ought to have occupied the office in an acting capacity pending the appointment of a substantive AGF by the President in six Months time as provided in the 1999 Constitution as amended.
The Unionist called on President Muhammadu Buhari to exercise the full powers of his office by appointing an acting AGF from the three most senior Directors already recommended to him and warned the Federal Civil Service Commission from meddling into Constitutional matters, where it had no powers.