Advocacy News

Transparency and Accountability:

Kaduna LG Councils lock horns over N20 million prize money

Pic: From Left: Director Budget Kaduna North, Mr Andrew Swat, Deputy Director Planning, Budget and Planning Commission, Alhaji Badamasi Musa and CALPED's Head of Governance, Mr Yusuf Goje, exchanging views during the visit

In a renewed move to take governance closer to the grassroots, all the 23 Local Government Councils of Kaduna state are being assessed on the basis of adherence to policy documents, budget planning and preparation process predicated on increasing internally generated revenue (IGR), improved public procurement system and reduced payroll fraud, tracking of absenteeism of primary school teachers and health personnel and the essence of abiding by guidelines of the state to engender transparency and accountability.

Deputy Director Planning in the state's Budget and Planning Commission, Badamasi Musa who led the Budget Assessment team to the Kaduna North Local Government Council of the state during the week, said the move became necessary to give the rural poor a sense of belonging.

While explaining that the Local Government Fiscal Transparency Accountability and Sustainability(LFTAS) program was a governance reform initiative of the state being facilitated by the commission and in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government Affairs to deepen accountability and transparency in the state, Musa pointed out that the ultimate goal was to improve and consolidate service delivery in local governance.

"LFTAS has five thematic areas of focus as follows: adherence to policy documents; budget preparation process; increased internally generated revenue(IGR); improve public procurement system tracking absenteeism of primary school teachers and health personnel", Musa disclosed, adding that the initiative "has 24 success factors which will be used to assess and evaluate all the local government councils with a financial reward of twenty million naira to those local councils that are able to achieve all the success factors as the case may be.

In his remarks, the Chairman of Kaduna North Local Council, Alhaji Sale Shauibu expressed delight over the initiative and assured the budget assessment team of his council's cooperation to ensure that the laudable program of the Governor Nasir el-Rufai-led administration was successfully implemented.

The Commission in her bid to ensure citizens' participation in the process had requested the civil society to be part of the assessment visits in each of the local government, thereby mobilizing one civil society focal person in each of the local governments to be supported by the state civil society team for effective and result-driven participation.

On his part, Yusuf Goje, Head, Governance and Advocacy of Coalition of Associations for Leadership, Peace, Empowerment & Development (CALPED) expressed the readiness of Civil Society to effectively participate and support the LFTAS program in the spirit of Open Government Partnership (OGP).

"Civil society engagement has now changed from confrontation to collaboration towards improved qualitative service delivery and good governance”, Goje stressed, calling on the civil society to take advantage of the LFTAS program initiated by the government to effectively engage and demand for Fiscal transparency, accountability, responsiveness and improved quality of service delivery at the grassroots.

Meanwhile, Kaduna North's Director of Budget, Mr Andrew Swat along with his deputy, Rabiu Isyaku assured the assessment team that the Budget department of the council was in good stead to clinch the prize money at stake in view of the council's "track record of promoting transparency and accountability in the scheme of things"

Comments

'Terrorists are all over, not only Southern Kaduna'

-Governor Nasir el-Rufai el-Rufai addressing Journalists in Hausa after a security meeting on Southern Kaduna By DANGWA DANJUMA G overnor Ahmed Nasir el-Rufai has admitted that terrorists are everywhere in Kaduna state, not only in the troubled Southern Kaduna, disclosing that miscreants have taken to the social media space to promote what he called disturbing and further aggravating the worsening situation situation with religious and ethnic colouration. Speaking to newsmen in Hausa, after a meeting with security officials, el-Rufai said that miscreants from Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and outside Nigeria are trying to insinuate that the Southern Kaduna killings is ethnic and religious even going as far as asking people to take the law into their hands. While maintaining that these people would be brought to book, he tasked traditional leaders, religious leaders and political office holders in the state to speak the truth about the happenings as failing to do so wo...

Outcry over a Woman's Inhumanity

DANGWA DANJUMA F ollowing intense investigation and reports by BREKETE FAMILY a flagship radio programme on Human Rights Radio and Television station focusing on human rights abuse, on how Deborah Babaji Longs, a personal assistant to Mrs Mariam Ahmodu Ali, spent three days in a dog’s cage without food or water, the Federal Capital Territory Police Command has arrested the wife of former People’s Democratic Party National Chairman and Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Col. Ahmodu Ali (rtd). The story of Deborah Babaji Longs, who worked as Mariam’s personal assistant, featured on Human Rights Radio and Television aka ‘Berekete Family’ on Saturday March 26, 2022 following a report of her alleged imprisonment by Mariam Ahmodu Ali. Narrating her ordeal, Deborah told Brekete Family under oath that Col. Ahmodou Ali, his two daughters and a son-inlaw witnessed the life threatening humiliation and blows meted out to her by Mrs Ali in the middle of their living room in their Abu...

Yearning for sound Fiscal Responsibility

Fundamentals for good governance G overnment and Citizens' Groups in Kaduna state have teamed up to engender effective budget tracking and implementation to create the enabling environment for increased internally generated revenue (IGR), in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). This was the fallout of a three-day eye opening event, facilitated by Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL-ECP), in collaboration with the Kaduna state government. The engagement touched on the urgent need to conduct budget trend analysis across key sectors - Economics, Social, Law/Justice as well as Administration, including audit report, all aimed ultimately at putting Kaduna state in good stead for sustained economic growth. Addressing participants drawn from government and citizens' groups, Mr Timothy Effiong, a Public Financial Management Consultant, maintained that even in Kaduna a state that is very policy-driven, there exist gaps in g...

Kaduna online Publishers move to tackle fake news

T he maiden Public Lecture and Award Presentation by the Arewa Online Publishers Association is underway in Kaduna to address fake news and promote ethical standards for overall good of the society. With the theme: 'The Role of New Media in Nation Building', the lecture will be delivered by renowned Professor Umaru Pate of Bayero University Kano (BUK) at Arewa House Banquet Hall, Kaduna tomorrow being Wednesday, November 27, 2019. Some distinguished great Nigerians and Corporate Organizations who have made outstanding contributions to nation building would be honoured at the epoch-making occasion. The Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabir Usman is the Royal Father of the Day while the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-rufa'i is the Chief Host. The Association with its headquarters in Kaduna , is a cream of seasoned Journalists who operate Online Media platforms across the 19 Northern States and Federal Capital Territ...

Open Government: Expert cautions Kaduna on Open Budget

A summary of the state government's commitment to open budget By DANGWA DANJUMA T he Kaduna State Fiscal Responsibility Law (2016), should be reviewed to guarantee citizens participation in the budget process. Coalition of Associations for Leadership, Peace, Empowerment and Development's (CALPED) Head of Leadership, Governance and Advocacy, Yusuf Ishaku Goje who dropped the hint, maintained that "an amendment bill of the Fiscal Responsibility Law (FRL, 2016) should also be sent to the House of Assembly to capture the CDCs as an integral part of budget process". This, he said would surely, "boost citizen’s confidence in the State government and ensure we deliver on the OGP key performance indicators on open budget." During this year’s budget formulation, CDCs generated from some of the local government areas were submitted to the Planning & Budget Commission, but no evidence to show that a single one was captured in the 2020 approved budget....

Cubinks NEWS

Search This Blog