ENetSuD Queries Kwara Govt’s Spending of ₦6.2bn Without Receipt
By Saka Idowu Eletu
The Elites Network for Sustainable Development (ENetSuD), an anti-corruption civil society organization, has expressed displeasure with Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s administration’s expenditure of ₦6,265,010,819.98 in the year 2020 without necessary expenditure receipts.
Ten (10) Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) were listed as the top queried public fund spenders without providing expenditure receipts in the 2020 Citizens’ Accountability Report published on Thursday, Sept. 30 by the Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Finance, Folorunsho Abdulrazaq.
Following a thorough re-analysis and re-calculation, ENetSuD discovered that a total of Five Hundred and Ninety-Two (592) audit queries amounting to ₦6,265,010,819.98 were raised by the State’s Auditor General in the 2020 Financial year.
Reacting to the report, ENetSuD Coordinator Dr Abdullateef Alagbonsi, expressed shock that the Governor’s Office is reportedly the top abuser of office by spending ₦2,054,211,929.13 without any relevant expenditure receipt.
In the year 2020, the Governor’s Office received a total of 166 audit queries from the Office of the Auditor General of the State.
The next to the Governor’s Office in the rank of spending public fund without receipt is the Government House that received 95 audit queries for spending ₦1,500,327,577.70 without any relevant expenditure receipt.
Other MDAs that spent without receipt are Ministry of Works and Transport (₦1,296,239,007.94), Ministry of Environment (₦62,378,218.04), Ministry of Finance and Planning (₦262,387,983.97), Ministry of Youths and Sports (₦156,732,009.84).
The list also includes Office of the Head of Service (₦293,248,899.16), Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development (₦75,795,000), Ministry of Energy (₦153,764,042.83), and Ministry of Water Resources (₦409,926,151.37).
ENetSuD charges the Kwara State House of Assembly to, as a matter of urgency and in the public interest, carry out its constitutional duty by carrying out robust, extensive and thorough investigation on how the KWSG spent the money.
ENetSuD reminds the KWHA that failure to do its duty and report its findings to the public whose taxes are being spent without due process will not go well with Kwara citizens that they represent in the hallowed chamber.
