Dons Eze
ENUGU GOVT SPENT N24BN ON GOVERNANCE REFORMS IN ONE YEAR – AUDITED FINANCIAL REPORT
Governor Peter Mbah’s administration in Enugu State spent N24,056,042,149.21 on what was tagged government and governance reforms between January 1 and December 31, 2023, the State Audited Financial report has shown.
The financial report of the state which was published on the government website also shows that the government spent N5 billion on travels and transportation while N3 billion was spent on fuel and lubricants.
According to the report, Mbah’s administration spent N6 billion on consultancy and professional fees. Also, N763,597,526 was spent on power while N10,719,009,043.31 was spent on social benefits.
The report indicated that the administration spent N486,858,297.94 on information communication and technology, while N3,233,630,715.83 was spent on housing and urban development.
Meanwhile, the report accused some ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of exceeding their recurrent and capital expenditures above the revised and approved appropriation for the year ended December 31, 2023.
According to the report signed and presented to the State House of Assembly by the State Auditor-General Dr. Okoro Livinus, the action of the MDAs contravenes the provisions of section 120, sub-section 2 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
It was noted that at the time of releasing the report, “necessary steps have been taken by the Ministry of Budget and Planning to address the expenditure excesses….”
The report further revealed that account books were poorly managed by some ministries, departments and agencies.
The report also noted that “improper vouching, that is, complete supporting documents were in few cases not attached to vouchers; improper cancellations, alterations and interpositions of figures, non-compliance to keeping of vote books, and that electronic transfer of funds to and fro were not supported with relevant documents”.
Furthermore, the report says that the rendition of the monthly revenue and expenditure returns to the office of the auditor-general by the ministries, departments and agencies “remained irregular in spite of the circulars issued by the office of the accountant general, and secretary to the state government”.
“The returns, however, in some cases varied with the monthly collation of the accountant general due to delays in collecting overhead/subvention releases as at when due,” it added.
