By Omoh Gabriel
Reports that states, local government and parastatals accounts have not been audited for upwards of five years gives cause for concern.
We recall that present economic predicament to which the nation is not plunged is an aftermath of the financial imprudence and impropriety of managers of the Nigerian economy in the past.
That the nation’s financial are dished out to states and local government officials without a provision making them to account for same amounts to aiding and abetting corruption in our society which can no longer afford financial impropriety in public places.
It is little wonder that serving states functionaries see their calling as that to amass wealth or a clarion call to share out of the national cake.
These officials after some few years in office display wealth which by al standards of measure they cannot be said to have earned given their remunerations in office.
This practice en courage Nigerians in government positions to lo the treasury without an iota of conscience.
This goes too for government parastatals some of whose principal officers have over the years defrauded their organisations of funds allocated to them knowing fully well that they will get away.
In this unwholesome act was true of the past, it is equally true today as all levels of government do not keep up to date accounts.
What is disturbing in the whole shameful affair is the fact that the practice is still allowed to continue this time around that the economy is being restructured while the less privileged are always called upon to make sacrifices.
If proper accounting habits are not taken and imbibed in our new found economic solace, the whole exercise of the Structural Adjustment Programme, SAP, would turn out to be a futility and Nigerians would have suffered in vain.
Since the present regime claim to be a corrective one, it should as a matter of urgency ask state governments, federal ministries, parastatals and local governments to prepare their five years audited accounts and submit same to it.
Failure to comply within a stipulated time, they should be denied of access to their share of the federation account until their accounts are put in order.
If individuals Nigerians are required to give five years, tax clearance before having dealings with government, the same should apply to inter-government dealings.
What is equivalent to tax clearance in the case of governments and their agencies is certificate of accountability how the funds allocated to them are spent.
Nigerians ask this from their governments and agencies which are to run with their own tax money. Nothing less is expected of a responsive and responsible system.
