The chairperson of the Adamawa State Planning Commission, Dr Mary Paninga, has attributed the state’s high performance in a national transparency survey to the accountability of government officials.
Adamawa State had been rated third last week when the report of the Nigerian States Budget Transparency Survey of 2022 was released, placing Jigawa, Kano, and Adamawa as the first, second, and third best states, respectively, in transparent budget processes.
The transparency survey report indicated that Jigawa State had a total score of 84%, followed by Kano with a score of 64% and Adamawa with a score of 63%.
The report, presented in Abuja last Tuesday by the Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC) with the support of UKAID and the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), showed that 28 of the 36 states in Nigeria did poorly in transparency and accountability in budget and procurement processes.
The report showed that after the best three, five other states, Edo, Ondo, Akwa Ibom, Kogi, and Yobe, were significantly transparent as they provided nearly sufficient budget information to the public.
The report indicated that 16 states, including Ogun, Osun, Kaduna, Ekiti, Borno, Zamfara, Abia, Gombe, Katsina, Enugu, Bauchi, Cross River, Oyo, Kwara, Kebbi, and Anambra, were weakly transparent as they scored between 40 and 60 per cent.
The rest, Plateau, Bayelsa, Imo, Lagos, Ebonyi, Nasarawa, Taraba, Sokoto, Delta, Benue, Rivers, and Niger, scored below 40.
Rivers, Niger, Benue, and Ondo states scored below 20 per cent.
Paninga, in a statement, said Governor Ahmadu Fintiri possesses a rare measure of public accountability.
“Adamawa State was ranked third in the country with a score of 63. Congratulations, and well done, Adamawa State. All thanks to our amiable Governor and the Planning Commission and Budget,” she said.