Jigawa and Kaduna states have been ranked top in the 2020/2021 Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria Accountability Index (ICAN-AI) report.
The names of the states were unveiled on Monday at the public presentation of the ICAN-AI report held at the institute national secretariat, victoria Island, Lagos.
The report revealed that Jigawa state came first with 75.1% to lead Kaduna state that scored 74.7% to be in the second position. Bauchi state came third on the list with 74.3%. Edo and Niger states scored 73.5% and 64.9% to be in the fourth and fifth positions respectively.
According to the 58th President of ICAN, Alhaji Tijjani Musa Isa, “we are encouraged that the ICAN-AI is gaining traction and attracting the interest of stakeholders in Nigeria’s Public Finance Management (PFM) system. The daunting challenges we faced during the assessment exercises, notwithstanding, we present, today, reports that passed through painstaking quality assurance processes.”
“The release of the reports was delayed due to the global and local disruptions such as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the ENDSARS protests in the country. These incidents did not only significantly alter the timeline for the field exercise, but they also informed the Institute’s resolve to process two assessment years simultaneously. The two-year project further prolonged the exercise. Despite these challenges, we adhered to best practice and ensured that our promise to produce high-quality reports was not compromised. The reports are therefore an accurate reflection and account of the PFM performances of the governments in Nigeria. It is our expectation that it will continue to engender healthy PFM practices among the tiers of government in the country.”
He added that the Institute was indeed proud of its acknowledged role in entrenching accountability and transparency in public governance through her novel Index. “We assure stakeholders and our partners, within and outside Nigeria, of our consistent commitment to improving the quality of the annual report. We indeed look forward to seeing the ICAN-AI Framework embraced by all African countries as a unified tool for tracking and improving public sector governance in the continent. The bespoke intervention considers the peculiarities of developing economies and African nations,” he said.
“Let me add at this point that the ICAN-AI adapts the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) Framework, taking into consideration the public finance peculiarities of emerging economies. The ICAN-AI Framework consists of 5 Pillars, 25 Indicators and 70 Dimensions,” he said.
