The Kano State House of Assembly Committee on Public Accounts has submitted its report on the 44 local government audited financial years.
Presenting the report, the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the House, Tukur Muhammad representing Fagge constituency, recommended that the Ministry of Local Government should ensure that deductions in respect of personal advances are maintained until each local government receives its rightful share.
He stressed the need for the Ministry of Local Government to ensure that each local government remits all deductions made, such as PAYE, 5% WHT, and 8% employee pension contributions to the respective beneficiary organizations.
Muhammad recommended that the Ministry of Local Government should initiate the necessary procedures to transition from the old system of classification under heads and sub-heads to the organized codes of accounts classification used by both the federal and state governments.
Other recommendations include reviewing and maintaining the records of all financial books, accounts and other relevant documents of the local councils and ensuring the effective and efficient monitoring of projects undertaken by local governments by the Local legislative councils.
Mohammad suggested that the government should ask local government executives not to rely solely on the monthly allocation from the Federal Government but to explore new avenues to increase their internally generated revenue to cater to public needs effectively.
Receiving the report, the Speaker of Kano State House of Assembly, Jibrin Ismail Falgore, praised the committee members for the work and the significant tasks accomplished before the honourable members of the house.
Falgore emphasized the importance of local government councils in rural areas and stressed the necessity of undertaking improvements to better the lives of the people living in the rural areas of the state.
The spokesperson of the Kano Assembly Speaker Kamaluddeen Sani Shawai in a press statement noted that some internal auditors of the local governments were not fulfilling their responsibilities of assisting and protecting the assets of local governments as outlined in the financial memoranda.
Emmanuel Ukoh
