Emmanuel OchayiA look into the state Auditor-General’s report for Local Government Areas in Ekiti State on the general purpose financial statement (Accruals) to the 16 local government areas in the state for the year ended December 31, 2022, has revealed unaccounted funds, receipt irregularities, and other issues plaguing multiple local governments.
These discrepancies amount to over N19 million and unaccounted revenue receipts impacting councils such as Ekiti East, Aiyekire, Ido/Osi, Ikole, Irepodun, Ikere, Ise/Orun, and Oye.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe report, signed by the Auditor-General for Local Government, Dr. (Mrs) Iyadunni Victoria Oke, expressed concern regarding these losses, citing the lack of proper accounting and reporting for the missing funds. She urged immediate action, stressing the need for recovery and appropriate sanctions against the responsible officials jointly and severally.
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“The following losses, details of which have been communicated to the affected local government are still under correspondence. No further recovery has been reported to this office,” Oke said.
She thereafter asked that “the sum of N19, 046, 217. 28 million should be recovered from the affected officials jointly and severally without delay, in addition to appropriate sanctions”.
Additionally, the report shed light on irregularities surrounding revenue-earning receipts for the year 2022. Ten local governments faced issues with the production of these critical documents. Ado, Aiyekire, Efon, Ekiti Southwest, Ekiti West, Ido/Osi, Ikere, Ikole, Ise/Orun, and Oye were identified as the affected local governments.
As a measure to address this concern, the Auditor-General instructed that salaries of implicated individuals should not be disbursed until the required receipts are presented.
She emphasized the necessity for local government management to facilitate the provision of all revenue-earning receipts for rigorous audit verification. Reinstatement of salaries would only proceed upon clearance obtained from the office of the Auditor-General for Local Governments, ensuring proper accountability and transparency in financial operations.
She said “The management of the affected Local governments should ensure that all revenue-earning receipts in custody of these Revenue Collectors are made available for Audit check receipts. Clearance must equally be obtained from the office of Auditor-General for Local Governments before the reinstatement of their salaries
Emmanuel Ochayi is a journalist. He is a graduate of the University of Lagos, School of first choice and the nations pride. Emmanuel is keen on exploring writing angles in different areas, including Business, climate change, politics, Education, and others.
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