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November 8, 2023

November 8, 2023 IFMNEWS

Only Three States Receive An ‘Excellent’ Rating In ICAN’s Audit Assessment

Only three of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) received a ‘good’ rating in ICAN’s ranking of state audit compliance as of October 2023.

According to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria’s accountability index, seven states received a ‘good’ rating, while the remaining 26 received a ‘fair’ rating.

In 2014, ICAN began audit rating states in order to analyze state governments’ financial management and accountability.

Ekiti, Lagos, and Osun received ‘excellent’ ratings.
Ogun, Kaduna, Edo, Delta, Kwara, Rivers, and Anambra are the seven states that received a ‘good’ rating.

Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Ebonyi, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara are among the states with a ‘fair’ grade.

The evaluation focuses on compliance with audit rules and regulations, as well as the quality and timeliness of audit reports, and each state receives a rating of Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor.

“The rankings suggest an overall trend of improving compliance with the constitutional requirement to audit state and local council accounts since the introduction of the ICAN accountability index,” said Innocent Okwuosa, the 59th president of ICAN. However, significant heterogeneity persists between states, emphasizing the need for sustained efforts to establish consistent compliance and develop accountability practices across all Nigerian states.”

According to him, the rating provides useful insights into development and areas that require additional focus.

Ismaila M. Zakari, a former ICAN president and managing partner of Ahmed Zakari & Co, brought attention to the index during the FrontFoot Media Initiative Audit Reporting Workshop in Lagos on October 25 and 26, 2023.

Emeka Izeze, Managing Director of FrontFoot Media Initiative, stated that his organization offers audit reporting training to help strengthen media capacity and increase responsibility among state and local government officials.

Workshops have been held in Benin, Awka, Abuja, and Lagos by FrontFoot.

Students “learn how and where to locate the relevant reports, interpret the material, and write engaging news stories and features that will enlighten, stimulate, and empower the electorate, and discourage impunity” , according to his statement.

August 11, 2022

August 11, 2022 IFMNEWS

#EndSARS: Ebonyi Govt Reconstructs 10 Damaged Police Stations

According to the Ebonyi Government, more than 10 police stations that were demolished during the state's #EndSARS demonstrations in 2020 are being rebuilt.

At a meeting with the management of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, which paid him a courtesy call on Wednesday in Abakaliki, Governor David Umahi made this announcement.

Umahi said the state government was also integrating several police stations in the rural areas with Closed Circuit Television (CCTV).

“What happened at Abuja with the break at the Kuje Correctional Centre couldn’t have occured if the facility was well equipped with CCTV.

“The correctional centre in Abakaliki is fully equipped with CCTV which makes officers see people approaching kilometres afar.

“I strongly think that police stations across the state should be equipped with solar-powered lights and CCTV for effective monitoring of movements,” he said.

The governor reeled out his administration’s support to the police which include provision of operational vehicles and relevant gadgets.

“We also renovated structures at the state Police Headquarters, tarred its surroundings, installed streetlighs at the facility, provided generators among other interventions.

“I experience serious health challenges whenever a police officer is killed on duty because they do not have to die while toiling to protect us,” he said.

He used the occasion to appeal to the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) to call-off the lingering strike for the sake of Nigerian students.

“I read about the problems these students run into while engaging in some acts because they are not in school.

“I believe ASUU and the government can reach a sincere understanding and commence the implementation of the union’s demand even in fractions,” he said.

The leader of the Police Trust Fund delegation, Dr Ben Akabueze, thanked the governor for the reception, noting that it was in the state to initimate him on its mandate and activities.

Akabueze who is the Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation, said that the fund was also seeking closer collaboration with the state government.

“We deeply appreciate the numerous support given to the Force by the state government in terms of operational equipment and infrastructure,” he said.

He noted that the fund ensured that personnel of the Force got various trainings to enhance their operational capabilities.

NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA

Gov Umahi Celebrates Arrest Of Leader Of Kidnap Gang In Ebonyi

Gov. David Umahi of Ebonyi has expressed happiness over the arrest of the leader of a kidnap gang which abducted some residents of Enyigba community in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the residents were recently abducted in the renewed land dispute between the community and neighbouring Enyibichiri community.

The governor made his feelings known in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Uchenna Orji, on Thursday.

Orji said that some members of the gang were also arrested alongside their leader and were now in police custody.

“The state government has dispatched security operatives to the state’s boundary with Cameroon where the remaining gang members are said be hiding.

“The government will do everything within the law to prosecute the suspects and also to ascertain the status of the abducted persons,” he said.

Orji quoted the governor as commending the people of Abakaliki and Ikwo councils, where the two communities are located, for their maturity over the abduction and urged them to sustain such.

“The governor warns miscreants especially from Izzi extraction which covers Abakaliki, to desist from attacks on Ikwo inhabitants both in the state and other places.

“Any further attack on Ikwo people will be viewed as an act of terrorism and the perpetrators decisively dealt with.

“The Izzi and Ikwo people are brothers and should be commended for collectively waging war against criminals who want to destroy their cultural heritage,” the commissioner said.

Orji reiterated the governor’s directive that the bails granted to stakeholders of the Effium and Ezza-Effium communities of Ohaukwu Local Government Area, be revoked.