NGF: Expenditure reform implemented by states helped get Nigeria out of recession

The Nigeria Governor’s Forum (NGF) secretariat says the public expenditure reform being implemented by state governments helped the country’s economy get out of recession.

A statement on Sunday, Abulrazque Barkindo, head, media and public affairs of the NGFS, said the disclosure was made when David Nabena, an economist, made a presentation at a meeting of the fiscal sustainability plan committee which is made up of officials of the NGF and ministry of finance.

It said the governors scored 69 percent success in the implementation of the expenditure reform.

However more can be done by the state governments to get the country “out of the doldrums,” it said.

“The action point with the highest percentage of implementation is that of public expenditure reform, which recorded 69 percent success, the NGFS economist, Nabena disclosed,” the statement by Barkindo read.

“Several economists have argued that since most economic activities take place in the states, they might have indirectly assisted the economic recovery that the nation is now celebrating.

“However, Nabena still believes more can be done by states to get the country out of the doldrums. Others with encouraging results according to him were public revenue reforms 63 percent and 54 percent for debt management reforms.

“These are laudable goals, according to many economists, but above all it shares a very special affinity with the open government partnership (OGP) which carries with it huge financial relief for governments that are able to meet its conditions.

“A consultant at the Kaduna Business School concludes that the first point to note is that states are in dire financial straits today because of poor management of fiscal and other resources that occurred in the years preceding the report.

“Funds meant for development have been stolen outright and laws and policies, where they exist, have been ignored. In some states, there is an absence of good fiscal laws, according to the findings.

“Nabena noted that the purpose of the meeting was to share findings of the 22 core action points of the FSP from the workshop held in April, as well as acquaint the ministry of the plans of the NGF Secretariat going forward.”

It also said 15 out of the 22 action points of the FSP have been implemented by most states as this could be found in the states’ self-assessment reports.

“Even here, Nabena explained, there is light at the end of the tunnel because there is a 44% success in implementation despite the fact that many states find the adoption of IPSAS cumbersome, expensive and challenging.

“In conclusion, the NGF Economist regretted that the picture is not all rosy for governance at the subnational level,” it read.

“In many states that work was conducted Nabena stated that there is no consolidated debt service account or sinking fund, 9 states do not have an active and functional website, seven states have not yet concluded their biometric staff audit, and up to 31 states have recorded success in the internal audit of their accounts.”

The statement further quoted Olubunmi Siyanbola, a director in the finance ministry, as saying six consultants have been sent to the different geo-political zones to make a report on the activities of the states around the 22 action points of the FSP and their success stories so far.