By Kadiri Abdulrahman
The Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Mrs. Oluwatoyin Madein, has said that transparency and accountability should be entrenched at all tiers and aspects of governance in the country.
This is contained in a statement issued by Mr. Bawa Mokwa, Director, Press and Public Relations, OAGF.
Madein spoke at the 2024 National Council on Finance and Economic Development (NACOFED) in Bauchi State.
According to her, transparency and accountability should not be solely about finances or financial managers; other resources, including human resources, have to be accounted for.
“Transparency does not end with finances; it goes round to even the storekeeper and those that manage the kitchen.
“Infrastructure has to be accounted for; everything that can be used indiscriminately must be properly accounted for in a transparent manner,” she said.
The AGF said that if transparency and accountability are restricted to how finances can be controlled, leaving the other areas without much control mechanism, the job would be haphazard.
“We need to build serious control measures around our assets,” she said.
She said that it had become imperative for persons in positions of authority to adequately account for assets that are procured through public funds.
She emphasised the need for continuous capacity building and motivation of the work force, noting that this was of utmost importance in ensuring transparency and accountability in managing public assets.
Madein also advised governments at all levels to imbibe fiscal discipline.
She called for the adoption of appropriate control measures and imbibement of the culture of savings and viable investments to guarantee availability of financial and other resources during the rainy day.
“When funds are released for the purpose of increasing the assets of the government, those assets must be accounted for by those that are handling them.
“Savings is good, and savings at the time of plenty is advisable.
“Governments at all levels should save from whatever comes to them so that they can have what to fall back to in any adverse situation,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 2024 NACOFED was hosted by the Bauchi State Government.
It heralded the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting for November, where N1.411 trillion was shared among the Federal Government, states, and local government councils.