The report of the Public Accounts Committee of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly on the audited accounts of the 31 Local Government Councils for the year ended 31st December, 2023 has been adopted and rarified by the House of Assembly.
The ratification follows the adoption of the recommendations of the committee at Thursday’s plenary after the presentation of the report by the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the House and Member representing Nsit Ibom State Constituency, Hon. Eric Akpan.
Part of the recommendations of the Committee were that Auditor Generals for Local Governments, State Accountant General, Salary Consultant, Ministry of Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs and Local Government Service Commission should draw up workable modalities to ensure that all outstanding arrears of advances in the Council books of accounts are either retired, refunded or written -off as the case may be in all the Councils.
The Committee also recommended that all Local Government Councils in the State comply fully with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), migration process from cash-based to accrued -based accounting framework provision in the documentation, preparation and presentation of their annual report and financial statements.
The report of the Public Accounts Committee of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly on the audited accounts of the 31 Local Government Councils for the year ended 31st December, 2023 has been adopted and rarified by the House of Assembly.
It urged Local Government Councils to pass through a thorough and cogent verification process that would guarantee compliance with required regulations before writing off both Councils’ assets and liabilities to avoid future litigations, while mandating the Local Government Service Commission to take appropriate disciplinary actions against officials who refuse to release documents to auditors.
Other recommendations of the committee adopted by the house were that Directors of Finance and other Heads of Departments should always abide by the provisions of model financial memoranda and other regulations to enthrone transparency and accountability in the Local Government System.
The adoption and ratification of the committee’s report by the house marks the conclusion of the processes for the audited accounts of the 31 Local Government Councils for the year ended 31st December, 2023.
