By Charles Ebi
A new audit assessment report has rated the 36 states in Nigeria poorly in terms of fiscal transparency and accountability, raising concerns about the persistent decline in audit performance at the sub-national level.
The revelation follows the release of the 2024 Subnational Audit Efficacy Index report by the Paradigm Leadership Initiative ,PLSI.
PLSI’s Programme Officer, Monsuru Olatunji, made the revelation during a radio programme, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to Olatunji, the report shows that the average performance level of transparency and accountability in the management of public funds, public audit, and implementation of public policies in all 36 states in 2024 stands at 29.47%. It notes that no state in Nigeria conducts performance audits of capital projects.
He added that, similarly, in 2022 and 2023, states’ performances stood at 31.81% and 30.50%, respectively, “which simply means that year in and year out, accountability of public funds and audits are getting worse”.
Olatunji also disclosed that “four states in the year under review ,Yobe, Anambra, Ekiti, and Delta, are leading in efforts to implement financial autonomy; 34 states out of 36 states have modern audit laws but lack the will to implement the laws; while audit recommendations are not implemented in all the 36 states of the federation”.
He asserted that the most paramount recommendation of the 2024 Subnational Audit Efficacy Index report is for states to strive to conduct performance audits for their budgets and project performance audits, which will help bridge the existing accountability gap.
“Looking at the report, there is a drop in the performance index for these states. As of 2022, the average percentage of each state was 31.81%; in 2023, it dropped to 30.50%, and in 2024, we have 29.47%, which means we are getting worse year in and year out.
“The report affects citizens in that we don’t know how the state’s resources have been spent; it actually reduces trust in the government.
“It is so sad that no state did a performance audit except Delta State, which did a performance audit on a segment solid waste disposal and management in Delta State. So, the most paramount recommendation is that states strive to conduct performance audits of their budgets at the state level.
“Nigerians should wake up. We should get involved that’s the simple word. Get involved with the affairs of your state. Let’s start with the state before we even tackle the presidency. Get involved with your state and local government and as citizens of the country.
“Performance audits will cater to the lapses in project executives, and until states start looking at projects and analyzing the economic impact of projects, we won’t get the best value for projects”, Olatunji stressed.
Reacting, the Coordinator of MAWA Foundation, Audu Liberty Oseni, stated that the report echoes what is already known and exposes how corruption in contract award and procurement continues to threaten Nigeria’s development.
Oseni blamed state governors for opacity and low accountability in the management of public funds while lamenting the failure of state legislators to perform their constitutional duties of oversighting the governors and ensuring accountability is enforced at the subnational.
He urged citizens to increase their demand for accountability, having seen that state legislators are mostly subservient to governors.
His words: “If you check all the contract awards, check the procurement processes. How many passed through rigorous procurement processes to get these contracts done? What is the accountability mechanism for spending public funds with government officials?
“The primary responsibility of the state houses of assembly, apart from making laws, which they don’t even make, includes carrying out oversight functions. And state House of Assembly members are practically in the pockets of the state governors.
“We have not been able to develop as a nation to a level where we have public citizens that will demand public accountability. But citizens must begin to demand public accountability, and we need to get to that level where every local government, every ward, and every geopolitical zone begins to demand public accountability.
On her part, the Programme Manager of PRIMORG, Dr Adaobi Obiabunmuo, joined the calls for Nigerians to promote fiscal transparency and accountability at the state and federal level by ensuring they participate in elections and speak truth to power no matter the difficulty.
“As citizens, we need to do more and get involved during elections. If we do not elect the right people or those interested in good governance, then we will continue to have this challenge of fiscal responsibility.
“If people are not transparent, they will not come out and tell you what they have done with your money. We need to learn to ask questions, get involved, and refuse to be intimidated”, Obiabunmuo stressed.
