Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya said his administration has discovered N1.48 billion hidden in 860 undisclosed and dormant accounts.
Yahaya, who disclosed this on Thursday, November 12, at the Government House while declaring open a one-day workshop on Treasury Single Account, TSA, tagged: “Cash Management Strategy” said the state government uncovered a total of 2,292 accounts linked to the previous administration.
The workshop was organized for accounting and paying officers of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) as well as chief executives of institutions of higher learnings in the state.
The Governor said since he signed implementation of the TSA, a lot of successes had been recorded as a total of 2, 292 accounts linked to the state government were captured in addition to the 265 hidden accounts discovered.
“586 dormant accounts were closed after generating their annual account statements for proper reconciliation and documentation. This shows the enormity of the financial indiscipline and opacity inherited by our administration. You can imagine 2, 292 accounts being operated in one government and you expect proper accountability and records, we must do something to safeguard ourselves.” he said.
Yahaya noted that in order to foster efficient management of resources in the state the administration has approved the Cash Management Strategy (CMS) which is aimed at enhancing budget performance by preventing costly budget overruns that negatively affect the implementation of the state’s Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).
He said that the introduction and enforcement of the TSA was one of the steps taken by the administration to salvage the financial wastefulness in the state.
“It is worthy of note that on our coming to office in May 2019, we met the State finances in a delicate situation, characterized by high debt burden, wastefulness and lack of accountability,” the governor noted.
He said in view of the scarce resources and the need to implement projects that would improve the living standard of the people, the implementation of the TSA was being leveraged to achieve results.
“There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to devastating economic consequences globally. To navigate this, states must develop innovative ways of saving cost, improving efficiencies, and eliminating wastage. This requires the highest level of competence and professionalism from our accounting officers,” the governor stated.
“There will be no development without the requisite resources to help implement our development agenda. That is why our administration is focused on mobilizing resources to finance the execution of projects and programs that will impact positively on the lives of our people,”
Yahaya explained that the workshop was designed to bring relevant stakeholders up to speed on the new TSA policy in the state and urged the participants to be attentive and gain the necessary insights and experience to make the new policy a success.
“The success of the TSA depends on your ability and willingness to buy into the new policy”. he added.
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