Nasarawa PDP challenges Almakura to make state accounts public

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The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Nasarawa has challenged the All Progressives Congress, APC, administration in the state to make public its financial transactions.

The director general of the PDP Nasarawa state gubernatorial campaign organisation, Solomon Ewuga, made the challenge during the party’s campaign rally at Toto local government area.

Mr. Ewuga asked Governor Tanko Almakura to publish the financial statement of the state for the three years he has been in office.

Mr. Ewuga said the claim of transparency by the APC-led government in the state was a hoax if the constitutional requirements of yearly publication of the state financial statements were not done.

“Almakura had always laid claims to running a government anchored on probity and transparency yet he has been unable to make public the financial statement of his dealings since assumption of office,” Mr. Ewuga said.

“Almakura has always told the people of Nasarawa that his government is without blemish with regard to appropriating public funds, one wonders why he has not been able to furnish us with how he spent our money.”

Mr. Ewuga said with the PDP gubernatorial candidate, Yusuf Agabi, a chartered accountant, at the helm of affairs, there would be day to day financial statement during the yearly publication of the statement of account.

He said that the current accounting system adopted by the state government lacked due process.

“Constitutionally, people of the state have the right to know how much comes in and how it is expended at the end of every fiscal year,” he said. “However, unfortunately the state government, in connivance with some stakeholders, have refused to publish the statement for fear of exposing their financial irregularities. We are meant to understand that the governor himself do make cash payments on sensitive projects in this era of e-banking.”

He called on the State Assembly to insist that such publications were made in the spirit of public integrity and prosperity. He said the PDP should not be seen in any way as abating criminality.

However, the state commissioner of information, Hamza Elayo, said the allegations were unfounded and untrue.
He said the state government was up to date in the publication of its financial records.

“We have published our records up to 2013 and that of 2014 will soon be published,” he said.

However, in a counter reaction, Francis Orogu, representing Keana constituency in the state assembly and chairman house committee on public accounts disputed the claim by Mr. Elayo.

“The state government had since 2011 when it came to power only published that of 2011 while that of 2012 , 2013 and 2014 are still pending,” he said.