The Directorate of Audit, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi state, has pledged to uphold its mandate of ensuring transparency, accountability, and due process in the university’s financial operations. They made this known on Tuesday during a courtesy visit on the Vice-Chancellor of the institution.

Leading the delegation, the Deputy Director of Internal Audit, Mr. Cornelius Offia stated that the visit was to congratulate the Vice-Chancellor on his appointment and to brief him on the directorate’s activities and to reaffirm their commitment to supporting management in achieving institutional goals through independent and objective quality assurance mechanisms.

Offia explained that the internal audit exists to add value and improve the university’s operations by evaluating and improving the effectiveness of its financial transactions. He highlighted some of the laws and regulatory frameworks governing the audit activities in Nigeria, and presented some of the regulations to the Vice Chancellor to guide him in discharging his official responsibilities to avoid falling foul of financial regulations.

In his response, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Daniel C. Nwachukwu said that the internal audit is a very important and strategic office that ensures financial responsibility, and commended the directorate for its proactive role in ensuring strict compliance to financial regulations in the university and reiterated management’s zero tolerance for financial irregularities.

He urged the directorate to continue to operate with professionalism and independence in line with global best practices.

The visit ended with assurances of stronger collaboration between the internal audit and university management to strengthen internal controls, and safeguard and ensure efficient use of public resources.