ASABA/Nigeria: In a tense session at the Delta State Assembly, Mr. Ukpaka Ikenna, a Level 17 Director Audit and career civil servant, faced a close call in his confirmation as the Auditor General for Local Government.
Nominated by Governor Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, Mr. Ikenna’s fate hung in the balance due to critical errors detected in his Curriculum Vitae.
The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Emomotimi Dennis Guwor, addressing the issue before the confirmation process, highlighted the gravity of the errors.
“As humans, we are prone to errors, but this one is obviously unfortunate coming from an Auditor who should be extremely diligent in auditing and editing errors,” he stated.
Despite the pardon extended, Mr. Ikenna was instructed to withdraw and replace all copies of his CV within 24 hours to rectify the inaccuracies.
“This is a House of records,” Speaker Guwor emphasized. “We will forgive you, but you have to provide us with fresh copies of your CV after correcting the errors. We will be magnanimous to tamper justice with mercy.”
During the questioning phase, Mr. Ikenna’s troubles escalated when discrepancies were found in his CV. Errors such as referring to non-sitting members as serving, and mistakenly portraying a former Auditor General as still in office, sparked disappointment and criticism from lawmakers. Some members expressed concerns about the implications of such inaccuracies for a role demanding meticulous attention to detail.
However, Mr. Ikenna found an unexpected ally in Hon. James Augoye, the member representing Okpe State Constituency. Augoye, attesting to Ikenna’s competence and diligence based on their past collaboration, pleaded for leniency, attributing the errors to typographical mistakes.
In the end, the nominee narrowly escaped rejection, with his confirmation contingent upon the swift correction of his CV errors. As the spotlight shifts to his forthcoming tenure, stakeholders are likely to scrutinize his performance with heightened expectations, underscoring the importance of accuracy and precision in the crucial role of Auditor General for Local Government.
