From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia
Stakeholders within the local government education authority in Nasarawa state are advocating for an effective accounting system based on transparency and accountability.
Education secretaries, heads of financial and audit departments from across the local governments and development areas in the state, met yesterday in Lafia, to brainstorm over issues relating to effective accounting and auditing system.
In a remark during the session which held at the PTA House in Lafia, Auditor-General local government administration, Abubakar Gani, observed that 90 percent of local governments and development areas do not prepare monthly bank reconciliation, a situation he described as worrisome.
Gani accused education secretaries across the state of converting retirees’ salaries from the local government education department into overhead cost, warning them to desist from such.
He noted that the internal control mechanism in the system is weak because, according to him, auditors are not doing their job well as chief financial advisers to the education secretaries.
While commending the management of the Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board (NSUBEB), for initiating the e-payment regime in the payment of teachers’ salaries, the local government Auditor-General however urged the board to always send vetted payment vouchers back to local government education authorities for confirmation.
On his part, executive chairman of the board, Mallam Aduulkarim Abdullahi Muhammad, directed his finance department to liase with the office of the local government auditor-general, with a view to
ensuring an open accounting system ‘It is only when you have skeletons in your cupboard that you will hide things. We don’t have anything to hide and as such we should run an open accounting system’ Abdullahi said.
According to him, the exercise is aimed at streamlining the operations of the board to conform with the best international standard.
