Abuja, Nigeria
According to the subnational audit efficacy index 2024 released by the Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI), N197.22 billion is missing in 17 states in the 2023 fiscal year.
According to the report, Jigawa leads the States with unaccounted funds with N89.61 billion, followed by Katsina with N59.52 billion, Edo with N14.31 billion, Zamfara with N9.82 billion, and Oyo with N6.98 billion.
Bauchi has N5.83 billion, Akwa-Ibom has N2.90 billion, Bayelsa has N2.73 billion, and Kebbi has N2.28 billion.
Other States in the category with unaccounted funds running into millions include Anambra with N932.15m, Cross River with N749.56m, Osun with N714.90m, and Gombe with N384.81m.
Others are Adamawa with N336m, Yobe with N62.30m, Ondo with N52.2m and Ekiti with N11.57m.
The report also indicated that 893 audit queries were issued in the 17 States, out of which Bauchi had 384, followed by Jigawa having 122.
Further Findings
In Jigawa, the State Audit Law, which was amended in November 2021, provided for financial autonomy for the Office of the Auditor-General. S.10(1) of the Jigawa State Audit Law (Amendment Law No. 2), which amended section 27 of the principal law, states that “the Auditors-General shall prepare their revenue and expenditure estimates and submit to the State House of Assembly for inclusion in the annual appropriation law. The House of Assembly shall be responsible for ensuring that the Auditor General are properly resourced to fulfill their mandate under this Law”.
Feedback received indicates that the legal provisions stated above are not operational, and the Office of the Auditor-General for Jigawa State is dependent on its auditee (the Executive) for its finances.
According to PLSI, audit queries from the remaining 19 states, including Rivers, Delta, Kogi, Lagos, Ogun, and others, were unavailable, making it difficult to determine whether they’re missing funds in these states.
