Ekiti, Yobe Top In Sub-national Audit Efficacy Index

A non-governmental organization, the Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI), has unveiled its annual Sub-national Audit Efficacy (SAE), Index report, highlighting Ekiti and Yobe States as top performers in transparency and accountability.

The report showcased the challenges and recommendations to enhance public finance management across Nigeria’s states.

The executive director, PLSI Olusegun Elemo revealed this during the fourth annual report, yesterday in Abuja.

He said Ekiti and Yobe States ranked as top performers, both attaining a remarkable score of 73 per cent followed by Akwa Ibom and Katsina States, securing 3rd and 4th positions with 60 per cent and 53 per cent respectively.

Elemo said conversely, Sokoto, Taraba, and Ondo States scored 31 per cent placing them at the 15th spot, while Benue and Lagos States lagged, occupying the 35th and 36th positions with 10 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.

He further said the SAE Index 2023 again revealed that 34 states (except Anambra and Benue) have modern audit laws to guarantee the independence of supreme audit institutions and strengthen public audit practices at the state level.

He highlighted that although the improvement witnessed in the policy landscape has not yielded much owing to the lack of effective implementation of enacted audit laws in various states which continue to stand in the way of accountability and development.

Elemo said: “the Sub-national Audit Efficacy Index, initiated in 2021, serves as an annual scorecard assessing the temperature of public finance management and policy implementation practices at the state level.”