The Ebonyi Government has restated its commitment to upholding principles of fiscal accountability and good governance through effective implementation of annual budgets and monetary policy.
Dr Samuel Udu, the state’s Auditor-General, stated this on Wednesday at a zonal multi-stakeholders town hall meeting held in Abakaliki for Ebonyi Central and Ebonyi North Senatorial zones for the presentation of Citizens Accountability Report (CAR)
The event was organised by the Nigeria Civil Situation Room (NCSR) in partnership with Development Integrity Goal Foundation (DIGF), with support from United Kingdom (UK) Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
Udu said that the state government has maintained transparency and openness in the preparation of the annual budgets as well as implementation of items provided for by the budget.
According to him, the state is among the few states that benefitted from State Fiscal Accountability Transparency and Sustainability (SFATS) project that wound up its project in 2023 in Nigeria due to its transparency in budget and audit matters.
He said that the state won some millions of dollars due to the way and manner budgets and audits were presented in a transparent manner.
“Since that time we have been determined especially those of us who are state actors to sustain those impacts made by SFATS.
“And we ensure that we upload the audited financial statement which is requirement for determining transparency in budget and audit procedures,” Udu said.
The auditor-general also explained the process which a budget must pass through to make it transparent, people-based and meet international best standards.
He said: “In preparation for budget, the citizens must make inputs and that’s why in June before the commencement of the preparation of the 2025 budget, the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning called the citizens and asked them to say what they want.
“The ministry will take the inputs and accommodate them unlike in the past when it was only what the government had in mind they would put in the budget.
“Now, citizens are involved; they say what they want in their various wards and they are accommodated and captured in the budget.”
He said that after the preparation of the budget, it would be presented before the public.
“So, the first stage in budget preparation is citizens’ inputs, followed by citizens’ budget and after the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) may have prepared their budgets based on what is given to them.
“So, there will be a bilateral discussion and during the discussion, Ministry of Budget calls the various MDAs to come and present their budget proposals for defence, in that case , civil society organisations are expected to be there to ask questions during the presentations.
“When it goes to the state House of Assembly for legislative works, the house will look at what is before it and approve.
“Once the budget is approved and assented to by the governor, it becomes an appropriation law and no MDA is expected by the law to spend beyond what is approved by the budget.”
Udu said that the involvement of citizens and CSOs in the budget preparation process made it imperative for people to demand accountability.
He said the purpose was to know whether the funds appropriated for particular projects in the budget were actually released and spent on those projects.
He called on the people to track budget implementations to be able to hold their leaders accountable.
Earlier, the Executive Director of DIGF, Chief Oliver Aja, said that the essence of the meeting was to build capacity so that the people would be knowledgeable enough to hold leaders accountable.
Aja added that it is aimed at empowering people to ask questions on how public funds are being spent.
“You need to note down some of the things the Auditor-General will be saying because it is our money.
“Whatever money the governor or public officers are spending is our collective funds. So, we need to know what they are spending our money for.”
A participating, Mr Ude Agwu, applauded the foundation for organising the meeting, saying that it was the duty of citizens to hold their leaders accountable to enhance good governance. (NAN).
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