Yobe tops North-East states transparency survey
Yobe State has been rated as number one among other North East states budget transparency, according to a survey conducted by Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC), with Bauchi taking the sixth and last position.
Speaking on behalf of CIRDDOC during a North East states 2020 budget transparency survey launch, organised with support from Foreign & Commonwealth Office and Responsible Citizenship and Human Development Initiative, Zonal Coordinator, Dudu Manuga said this was based on the findings of states’ researchers and the visibility of the each states’ budget records online.
The six states making up North-East were ranked Yobe, Taraba, Adamawa, Gombe, Borno and Bauchi respectively.
Manuga noted that although a number of states have functional website, she stressed that many still do not have the requisite details of some aspect of budget online.
She bemoaned the failure of states to publish mid-year review which is six month report on the budget, adding that Auditor Generals of all the states failed to engage the citizens of each of the states.
Manuga said, “The issue of transparency has tremendously improved unlike when we started in 2015 because now every State has a website and they put up their documents on those website. Not, all the documents that we are looking for are there and when they are there (online), they are there they should be in good time because there is a timeline.
“So that when citizens want to do something or intervene they can but unfortunately, not all are always online in good time. Some states don’t do citizens’ budget where it is broken down using infographics, or the use of languages that citizens can understand. Some states don’t do this. Some states do not do call circular they feel it is not important while others do but it is not online. The criteria for scoring this year (2020), is hinged on public availability, it should be on the website.
“No state in the North East has Freedom of Information Act (FOI), it has not been domesticated anywhere in the North East. States don’t also have the mid-year review which is different from a report because a report shows performance . However, a mid-year review is an assessment of how the budget performed looking at the past six months.”
She noted that based on research there were movement of funds from Ministries, Departments and Agencies which have been appropriated, without requisite approval from the assembly, in some states.
“Auditor Generals are supposed to hold their public hearing at their own stage before they submit their report to the house of assembly. I think it is only Yobe State that does that in the entire North East. We need the office of the Auditor-Generals to open up small and engage citizens. The public account committee does not hold public hearing on the auditors’ report. So we need the committee to open up and engage the citizens and when they have the report it should be put online for the purpose of the survey.
“If there is going to be any plus minus, they should go back to the house of assembly, they are supposed to know and approve the money can move from ministry A – B. May be there is a greater need like we had Covid-19 challenge last year. This is because it is an appropriation law, you don’t just play with the law without going to the lawmakers to give an approval alot of them claim to do it but we don’t see it online,” Manuga added.
Also speaking, Zainab Saleh, Director Budget, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning said the survey gave researchers opportunity to know how citizens were carried along in budget process, adding that the network of civil society organisations operating in the state aided the performance.
On his part, Dr. Yusuf Abashi, CIRDDOC’s Bauchi State Researcher noted that citizens input were not captured in 2020 budget formulation, noting that the state last low because alot of things were not made open for the public.
