At ICAN: Jigawa Governor Demands Accountability, Transparency For Economic Development

Governor of Jigawa State Umar Namadi says good governance is necessary for creating and sustaining an enabling environment for economic growth and development. The governor said all hands must be on deck to promote good governance, accountability, transparency, rule of law, and participation.

“Without these, the quest for economic stability, growth and development could turn out to be illusory,” the governor said yesterday at the 54th annual accountants’ conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

Mallam Namadi stressed the need for a responsible and accountable governance structure in Nigeria, both in the public and private sectors, to achieve developmental objectives.

The governor opined that when the governance environment is good, imbued with the principles of accountability, transparency, rule of law, and participation, the requisite climate would be provided, creating and sustaining an enabling environment for economic growth and development.

He said the Act setting up ICAN sets standards for professional discipline for which it establishes the accountants’ disciplinary tribunal.

He told the accountants that upholding ethical values in the profession, such as openness, integrity, accountability, honesty, selflessness, and objectivity, is paramount in ensuring good governance, not only in the practice of the accounting profession but also in ensuring that the governance environment is good enough to promote growth and development.

He said the three-day conference was focused on reimagining the concept of good governance and mapping out future policies and strategies for economic stability, sustainable development, and overall improvements in the socioeconomic well-being of citizens.

He believes that critical questions around how political power should be exercised in managing the nation’s affairs, and how institutions of the state are administered and regulated raised at the conference have again and how effective the institutions established to fight corruption have performed over the years and what needs to be done to strengthen them and improve their performance are critical to public administration.

Governor Namadi said the conversation could also be shifted to interrogate how effective the security agencies and the judicial system have been in upholding the rule of law and how the media and civil societies have effectively had the media and civil society in helping to build strong governance institutions, among other fundamental questions.

Earlier, diamond president of ICAN, Davidson Chizuoke Alaribe, urged members of the profession to embrace the innovative and practicable resolutions that have emanated from the conference and “ensure we go back to our various spheres of life with a firmed determination to be part of the privileged professionals and individuals who will make a change in the system of Governance and create a path for a sustainable future at both national and global levels.”