Don't Miss

Fashola Queries ANAN on Poor Budget Performance

By David Abellegah on October 13, 2012

The Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola has queried the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) on the pitiable performance of the 2012 budget.

The governor said this while speaking on the topic, “Challenges of Governance: The Need for Transformational Leadership,” in Abuja at the 17thAnnual Conference of the association.

Represented by the State Commissioner for Finance, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru, he said, “This body (ANAN) should be asking questions why year in year out Nigeria is recording poor performance on budget.”

He queried the body on the need to express worry over the shape of the Nigerian economy.

“How serious are you as a body in playing your auditing role? There is need for ANAN to be questioning government’s fiscal policy. What is ANAN inputs in the 2013 budget. Were your inputs sought into the budget? Can there be proper accountability in the management of the nation’s account?” he asked.

He said, with the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill, as a watchdog, the associations should be asking questions about issues like, the excess crude account, the extensive effects of the cashless policy as well as the N5, 000 notes.

In his words: “It is time for a wake-up call and for some self-examination. You have the clout to invite key government personalities to explain their programmes.”

The Governor concluded by saying, there should be national dedication to financial discipline, adding that, accountability as well as transparency was vital to economic development.

Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State speaking on the topic, “Governance & Sustainable Development: Addressing the Leadership Challenge,” said, Sustainable development is linked to Governance, adding that, without sustainable development there would be no workable governance.

The governor mentioned security of lives and properties, healthcare, rule of law, infrastructural development, and human development as the characteristics of sustainable development gained from workable leadership.

He said, because the world is changing, there is need for new ideas on handling the affairs of this nation, adding that, ethnicity had been a major problem and class conflict has the propensity to aggravate the anxiety in the polity.

He reiterated the importance of communication, adding that they have adopted new measures like sending government’s supporters to the villagers to explain government’s programmes in his state, which means taking governance to the doorsteps of the people

featured