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See States That Missed Out Of N43bn Just Shared And Why

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States That Missed Out

Do you know that the Federal Government just shared another largesse, this time the sum of N43,416,000,000.00 ($120.6 million) to some states of the federation?

Well, this is authentic coming from the Federal Ministry of Finance, which explained that the money was given only to states adjudged to have performed well, in terms of fiscal transparency, accountability and sustainability.

That in other words, implies states which followed global established procedures of accountability and transparency in managing resources and in their procedures.

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The full name of the initiative is World Bank Assisted is States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme-for-Results, as confirmed by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed.

It is wholly-financed with a loan of $750 million from the International Development Association (IDA), a member of the World Bank Group, and the states that missed out are:

Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Borno, Cross River, Ebonyi, Imo, Lagos, Nasarawa, Plateau, Rivers and Zamfara States. However, the SFTAS Programme accommodates different starting points, hence the 12 States can still participate in the 2019,2020 and 2021.

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On the other hand, states that benefitted from the just released fund covering 2018 are: Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Ondo, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Sokoto, Taraba and Yobe States.

They are adjudged to have achieved: improved financial reporting and budget reliability; increased openness and citizens’ engagement in the budget process; improved cash management and reduced revenue leakages through the implementation of State Treasury Single Account (TSA); strengthened Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) collection; biometric registration and Bank Verification Number (BVN) used to reduce payroll fraud.

 Others are improved procurement practices for increased transparency and value for money; strengthened public debt management and fiscal responsibility framework; improved clearance/reduction of the stock of domestic expenditure arrears; and improved debt sustainability.

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She explained further that the disbursement followed a recent Annual Performance Assessment (APA) carried out by the Office of the Auditor-General, according to a statement issued by Mr Hassan Dodo, the Ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, in Abuja.

The SFTAS Programme was established by the federal government with the concessional World Bank loan to support states to enhance their capacity to achieve the Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) which are the Programme results.

According to the minister, “The DLIs are derived from the country’s 22-Point Fiscal Sustainability Plan and the 14 Open Government Partnership (OGP) commitments aimed at strengthening fiscal transparency, accountability and sustainability across all States of the Federation.” She said adding that the SFTAS programme couldn’t have come at a better time than now given the dwindling government revenue occasioned by oil price volatility, as well as the current impact of COVID-19.

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