“Wind don blow, fowl yash don open,” is a common saying in Nigeria and that is the current story of the audited report of most local government areas in Ekiti State.
According to the voluminous audited reports of the year 2022 as deposited with the various LGA chairmen by the LG auditor- general for local governments in Ekiti State, one common feature in the report is missing revenue receipts involving no less than 10 out of the 16 local government areas in the state as seen by charlesokogene.com at the recently concluded training for journalists facilitated by FrontFoot Media Initiative owned by time tested journalists, Mr. Emeke Izeze, former MD, The Guardian and Sully Abu, former Guardian Newspapers’ executive. With Mr. Chido Nwakanma, a PR guru, as a facilitator
From Ekiti West Local Government of Ekiti State, which has the highest number of missing revenue receipts of 10 for tipper loading, 36 for market tolls, seven for birth certificates followed closely by Ido/Osi with 22 receipts for market tolls the story is the same; missing revenue receipts.
And Dr. (Mrs.) Iyadunni Victoria Oke, the Auditor-General for Local Governments, in Ekiti State, in her comment, has urged the head of the LGAs to endeavour to get the civil servants involved in the scam, to turn in the receipts for adult checking or in the alternative, withhold their monthly salaries.
Also, most of the LGs have not been able to get the repayment of the salary advance it advanced to political office holders and some career staff in its employment. This stood at N2,003,935.10 as at December 31 2022 and it cuts across Ido/Osi, Ikere, Ilejemeje, and Oye LGAs.
Also the state government is indebted to the 16 LGAs as a result of non payment to the LGAs, the mandatory 10% from the internally generated revenue (IGR). The Auditor General’s comment reads as follow: “Statutorily, the state government is supposed to remit to the local government councils, 10% of the internally generated revenue (IGR). The outstanding amount covered the years 2014 – 2018. This has in no small way hampered the operations of the local get government councils and constitutes a breach of the constitution. ”
The total amount in question for the period is N4,479,735,669.76. And she urged the state government to ensure the ‘immediate remittance of the outstanding balance of the N4,479,735,669.76 to JAAC account.
That not withstanding, local government areas in Ekiti State happened to be the only LGAs out of the 774 LGs recognised by law, that have audited their accounts up to date in a country where both the federal, state governments, do not have regard for audited accounts and in some cases do not even have an auditor general or have just appointed one like the the case of Lagos State that recently appointed one and Cross River where the governor tried to sack the auditor general and the deputy. The LGs must be commended for the bold step.
