Accountability - NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA

Philip Daniel Yatai
Jan, Tue, 2025

PPDC, ministry of justice seek compliance with FOI Act

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By Jacinta Nwachukwu

Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) and the Federal Ministry of Justice have urged private and public institutions to actively comply with the principles of Freedom of Information Act for more accountability.

The actors made the call during a roundtable engagement on the submission of the compliance reports on Freedom of Information (FOI) Act by public institutions in Abuja.

In her remarks, the Chief Executive Officer, PPDC, Lucy Abagi, said that the event was organised to promote transparency and accountability in governance by ensuring compliance with the Act.

Abagi said that the Act had remained a democratic instrument empowering citizens with the right to public information and fostering a culture of openness.

According to her, FOI has played an official role in social accountability, reducing corruption and promoting public trust in government institutions.

She said over the last 10 years, PPDC had been pioneering the FOI ranking, adding that for every year, it tried to assess the proactive disclosure of ministries, departments and agencies with the FOI Act.

Abagi said although progress had been made, challenges still persisted in achieving full compliance with the Act by public institutions.

“We’ve also identified a lot of gaps; you know, when you are dealing with the government, there’s always some level of transfers that happens with officers to different agencies or to different states.

“So there’s a lot of capacity gaps, one of which is for the FOI desk officers to respond to the FOI Act requests by citizens or other organisations to actually know where monies are going to and what those monies are being used for.

“So this training, in partnership with the ministry of justice, is to begin to identify areas of gaps and challenges that need to be filled across over 150 public institutions.

“We are hoping that governments are not just spending money on the budget, or are not just easily funding without accountability.

“We want to ensure that our procurement process is right; we want to ensure that there is transparency; we want to ensure that there is reduced corruption,” she said.

Abagi also encouraged all stakeholders to consider the training as an opportunity to address challenges, share experiences and explore innovative ways of strengthening compliance.

According to her, transparency is not just a legal requirement, it is a responsibility that promotes trust and drives sustainable growth in the society.

“We are dedicated to advancing procurement transparency and improving citizens’ access to information,” she added.

Earlier, the Head of Freedom of Information Unit, ministry of justice, Mr Garuba Godwin, while giving an overview of the FOI Act, said it was applicable to all MDAs.

Godwin said that the Act also applied to private institutions utilising public funds; hence the need for both government and private institutions to comply with its principles.

He said that with the establishment of the Act, no public document would become secret officially, saying that every Nigerian citizen had the right to access information from public documents.

“Last year, we had about 91 public institutions that complied with the release of government information.

“The honorable minister of justice has taken administrative action to ensure that this year, if not half of the total number of the public institutions we have in this country, we should have a majority of them complying.

“Last year, we engaged about 100, and this year, we are engaging about 300; so they have come to the knowledge that government activities are no longer secret.

“Citizens should have access to exactly what the government is doing, and if you look at the presidency, the president also came out to hold ministers and heads of MDAs accountable for their activities,” he said.

Godwin, however, said that access to government information records was not in all circumstances, as there were some exemptions to the Act.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training was organised by the centre, in collaboration with the ministry of justice, with the support of MacArthur Foundation. (NAN)

Edited by ‘Wale Sadeeq

Tosin Kolade
Nov, Thu, 2024

Economy/Business

AGF urges transparency, accountability in governance

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By Kadiri Abdulrahman

The Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Mrs Oluwatoyin Madein, has called for transparency and accountability to be entrenched across all tiers and aspects of governance in Nigeria.

This was disclosed in a statement issued by Mr Bawa Mokwa, Director of Press and Public Relations at the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF).

Madein spoke at the 2024 National Council on Finance and Economic Development (NACOFED) in Bauchi.

According to her, transparency and accountability must extend beyond finances to include other resources, such as human and material assets.

“Transparency does not end with finances; it extends even to the storekeeper and those managing the kitchen,” she said.

She emphasised the need to account for infrastructure and other resources, stating, “Everything that can be used indiscriminately must be properly accounted for in a transparent manner”.

Madein warned that restricting transparency and accountability solely to financial management would result in a haphazard system.

“We need to build serious control measures around our assets,” she added, stressing that public officials must account for assets procured with public funds.

She also noted the importance of continuous capacity building and workforce motivation, describing them as essential for ensuring effective management of public assets.

Madein advised governments to adopt fiscal discipline and appropriate control measures while fostering a culture of savings and viable investments.

“When funds are released to increase government assets, those assets must be accounted for by those handling them.

“Savings is good, and saving during times of plenty is advisable. Governments at all levels should save so they can have something to fall back on in adverse situations”.

The 2024 NACOFED, hosted by the Bauchi State Government, preceded the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting for November, where N1.411 trillion was shared among the Federal Government, states, and local councils. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Sadiya Hamza

Tosin Kolade
Nov, Tue, 2024

Economy/Business

Asset tracking, valuation, crucial for accountability -AGF

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By Kadiri Abdulrahman

The Accountant- General of the Federation, Mrs Oluwatoyin Madein, says tracking and valuation of all Federal Government assets is necessary for accountability.

Madein said this in an interview with newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja.

She spoke against the backdrop of the Asset Tracking and Management Programme organised by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).

According to Madein, asset is the real bedrock of the nation, which needs to be properly valued and accounted for.

“The Federal Government has been spending money over time acquiring, constructing, and providing assets. These assets are the real value of the country.

”Currently, Nigeria has about N32 trillion negative net asset that is usually recorded as liability,” she said.

She said that since the adoption of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in 2017, it became imperative to include the valuation of national assets in the annual financial statements of the country.

“This has influenced public sector accounting standards in Nigeria and the strategic role of legacy assets in the adoption of IPSAS.

”Legacy assets refer to existing assets acquired or constructed prior to the adoption of IPSAS in 2017.

”The inability to collate, evaluate, and place value on the assets of the Federal Government has constantly been throwing the financial position of the country into net liabilities.

“This makes the liabilities of the Federal Government to be over and above its assets,” she said.

She said that the stakeholders had now agreed to build a national assets register to accommodate all Federal Government assets.

She listed the assets to include buildings, offices, schools, hospitals, roads, equipment, and even biological assets.

“Investors, donors, and international organisations partnering with the Federal Government will like to see our true value as enumerate in our annual financial statement,” the AGF said.

She described the OAGF as the treasury office of the Federal Government responsible for collating financial information that leads to the preparation of financial statements.

She said that including the valuation of assets in the annual financial statements was one of the key values that the statement is required to possess. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams