Transparency: Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi, Misses Out Of N42B World Bank Grant

Three out of Five South-Eastern States in Nigeria, have missed out of the N43.41bn ($120.6m) disbursed to 24 eligible states under the performance-based grant component of the World Bank-Assisted States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme-for-Results.

SFTAS is a $750m programme to reward states for meeting any or all of the nine indicators that demonstrate improvements in fiscal transparency, accountability and sustainability.

According to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, in a statement released on Wednesday in Abuja by the Ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Mr. Hassan Dodo, the disbursement followed the participation of the 24 eligible states in the recent Annual Performance Assessment (APA) carried out by the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (OAuGF) as the Independent Verification Agent (IVA) in collaboration with a third-party firm, JK Consulting Limited and the SFTAS Programme Coordination Unit (PCU).

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Ahmed noted that the SFTAS programme was established by the federal government with a concessional loan of $750 million to support states through the provision of performance-based grants to the tune of $700 million, and technical assistance in the sum of $50 million to enhance their capacity to achieve the Disbursement- Linked Indicators (DLIs) otherwise known as the programme results.

The statement said Kaduna State achieved the highest number of result (nine) and got the highest share with $11m while Katsina and Benue got the lowest amount of $1.5m each.

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Further breakdown showed that Abia got $4.8m; Adamawa ($3m), Bauchi ($6.3m); Delta ($4.5m); Edo ($6m); Ekiti ($2.8m); Enugu ($4m); and Gombe ($6.8m).

Others are Jigawa ($5.5m); Kano ($2m); Kebbi ($2.5m); Kogi ($8.8m); Kwara ($5m); Niger ($8m); Ondo ($7.8m); Ogun ($3m); Oyo ($4.5m); Osun ($6m); Sokoto ($2.5m); Taraba ($6.5m) and Yobe ($6.3m).

According to the statement, the DLIs are derived from the country’s 22-Point Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP) and the 14 Open Government Partnership (OGP) commitments aimed at strengthening fiscal transparency, accountability and sustainability across all states of the federation.

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The minister listed the Eligibility Criteria (EC) which states have to meet in order to be eligible to receive any grants to include the online publication of their approved annual budget and audited financial statement for the previous year; and the DLIs that eligible states receive grants for achieving improved financial reporting and budget reliability.

Others are 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.

Also included 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.

She reiterated that the World Bank-assisted SFTAS Programme is principally to strengthen fiscal management at the state level so as to ensure effective mobilisation and utilisation of financial resources to the benefit of their citizens in a transparent, accountable and sustainable manner, thereby reducing fiscal risks and encouraging a common set of fiscal behaviours.

Ahmed observed that the SFTAS programme could not have come at a better time than now given the dwindling government revenue occasioned by oil price volatility coupled with the current impact of COVID-19 which has further intensified the need for improved practices in fiscal transparency, accountability and sustainability as enunciated in the SFTAS ideals.

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She recalled that in 2018, the first year of the programme, only 24 states met the Eligibility Criteria. She also disclosed that those states declared ineligible for 2018 failed to publish their annual budgets and audited financial statements online within the time frame as stipulated by the SFTAS Programme Operation Manual (POM).