Auditor-General of Anambra State, Mr Okocha Akosa, has raised an alarm that N750 million is missing and yet to be accounted for by the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the 2024 fiscal year.

Okocha, who made this troubling disclosure, stated at the 2025 Audit Forum and Citizens Accountability Dialogue held at Awka that the ugly trend was even an improvement compared to the situation in the 2023 fiscal year.

According to him, the 2023 unresolved audit queries totalled N2.5 billion. He attributed the improved figures to his efforts since assuming office.

He said, “My office ensures that expectation gaps, lapses and other breaches are identified as they occur and are rectified.

“These observed breaches are also reduced to the barest minimum. In the financial year 2023, the amount of unresolved queries was about N2.5 billion, but has reduced drastically to about N750 million in 2024.

“This is due to the proactive measures put in place by my office.

“Some of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) mentioned in the report have responded and forwarded documented evidence to clarify the issues in the unresolved queries concerning their entity.

“There have been some improvements in some of the areas where we have challenges, as I mentioned during last year’s Audit Forum,” Okocha pointed out.

Also speaking, a Principal Consulting Accountant, Mr Ademola Okeleye, called for more efforts to resolve all queries raised in the 2024 accounts to enhance public confidence in corporate governance.

He called for increased citizens’ involvement in decision-making, regular tax payments, access to information, and seizing every opportunity for feedback and engagement.

The consultant pointed out that the above was intended to promote transparency, reduce corruption, enhance trust in government, and encourage active citizenship and community engagement.

Scrutinising the 2024 FY revenue windows receipts graphically, Okeleye noted that most windows performed very poorly. This included the Tax receipt, where N29, 441,744,000 was anticipated but only N28,199,899,033 was realised. This was a mere 4.22 per cent of the anticipated figure.

“Again, it was literally scandalous that out of 51 statutory administrative subheads captured in the 2024 appropriation, including the State Governor’s office, none achieved an aggregate performance of about 65 per cent. The pictures were so appalling that even the Office of the Accountant General recovered only N120, 326,747 from the proposed N710, 000,000. This represents 16.95 per cent. So with this awful scenario, how does anyone expect the relevant workers to do well or put in their best?” he asked.

Professor Tochukwu Okafor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, in her presentation, described Accountants and Auditors as the life wire of every organisation, including government/her ministries, departments and agencies.

She pointed out that without them, things would go awfully wrong. She lamented that despite having a subsisting law for the establishment of Directors of Audit in government units since 2020, it has not been implemented even in the face of challenging need. Moreso, records show that most government offices have been operating without an internal auditor.

It was discovered that the State’s Accountant General is combining the role with being the Permanent Secretary.

At the start of his presentation, “Robust Financial System, A Panacea for Good Governance”, Dr Adokwe Ekene of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said that good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development. He explained that improved auditing was necessary for improved service delivery in Nigeria.

Dr. Adokwe decried the anachronistic mindset of civil servants, including top officers, who hoard information when requested. Some of this information, he pointed out, was supposed to be readily provided, as it could be for the good of all, including the particular officer.

He noted that such information, when released, would help end corruption and promote transparency and accountability. (The Guardian)

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