Kwara, 20 Other States Can’t Account For N208b Spent In 2022 Fiscal Year – Report

By Ahmed Ajikobi

Kwara state and 20 other Nigerian states could not account for missing N208 billion in the 2022 fiscal year, the Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI)’s Subnational Audit Efficiency Report for 2023 has shown.

The PLSI’s SAE report, published in April, also listed Lagos as the worst-performing Nigerian state with regard to audit efficiency.

After numerous queries, Cross River alone could not account for N135.9 billion in public funds.

The Katsina State government failed to report where N59.5 billion went. Jigawa, Edo and Akwa Ibom had N7.1 billion, N7 billion and N6.2 billion in unaccounted funds, respectively.

Other states with unaccounted funds were Kwara, Kano, Bayelsa, Niger, Kebbi, Zamfara, Adamawa, Ekiti, Plateau, Yobe, Gombe, Kaduna, Ondo, Ogun, Bauchi and Benue. Over 90 audit queries were made between Anambra and Osun, but data on the results was unavailable.

Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI) is a Nigerian non-profit organization established in 2016 and with mission to advance accountability, foster good governance and enhance development in marginalized and underserved communities by promoting active citizens’ engagement with the public audit system and processes in Nigeria. PLSI’s vision is to ensure public accountability necessary for good governance and development of Nigeria becomes a norm.