Nigeria: PLSI Releases Audit Report Findings

Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI) has reported slow implementation of audit legal frameworks across the 36 states that make up Nigeria.

In its latest audit efficacy report titled Subnational Audit Efficacy Index 2021, Leveraging Accountability for Subnational Development in Nigeria, PLSI said citizens’ participation in the audit process was very poor across 17 states.

The study revealed that legislators at subnational level either lack required capacity to perform their statutory oversight functions on public accounts or are unwilling to do so.

The PLSI study also found that public accounts committees in 31 houses of assembly were either less effective or not effective at all.

However, findings show that there has been visible improvement in enacting audit legal frameworks in virtually all 36 states of the federation except Benue and Anambra states.

PLSI said it engaged 108 public institutions and 108 civil society organisations (CSOs), and collected information from more than 190 data sources including the offices of the auditor-general, accountant-general in all 36 states.

The study ranked Bauchi and Osun first, having scored 88 percent each in potent public audit mechanism, while Akwa Ibom and Ekiti occupied third and fourth places, scoring 86 percent and 83 percent respectively.

‘Furthermore, only 11 out of 36 states assessed conducted either compliance or performance audit on public expenditure in 2020. An indication that 25 SAIs did not take active measures to ensure adherence to procurement and financial regulations by government agencies, thereby limiting their states’ ability to achieve value for money especially on programmes and projects implemented in 2020’, the study said.

‘Also, a total of 19 states in the country refused to publish full audit report for 2020 financial year, hence, inhibiting citizens’ ability to engage public officials and policymakers using audit information’.

PLSI also noted that supreme audit institutions at subnational level require independent technology infrastructure to support their work.

The organisation called on state governors to muster the political will needed to enhance implementation of new audit laws especially the clause bothering on financial autonomy for the auditor-generals in their states.

PLSI also called on states that have yet to constitute and inaugurate audit service commission or board to do so.

It also called for the implementation and scaling of citizens’ accountability report by states.

It is understood that the poor state of public audit mechanism in Nigeria points to a lack of transparency and accountability in the public sector. Transparency and accountability, research has shown, are critical for the reduction of corruption at all levels of public sector.

Source: PLSI

Photo source: UN Women

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