ABSTRACT
The diagnostic survey conducted in 2001 into
the Federal Government public procurement revealed that Nigeria lost several
hundred billions of Naira over the last few decades due of flagrant abuse of
procedures, lack of transparency and merit in the award of contracts in the
public sector. Measures like legislative committees, financial audit,
ministerial control, judicial reviews, anticorruption agencies, advisory
committees, parliamentary questions and public hearing to ensure accountability
in the public sector as in developed countries were adopted yet no tangible
result has been achieved. This study investigated accountability in the Nigerian
Public Sector. The population of the study is Nigeria public sector and the
sample frames was drawn from Ministry of Finance, Presidency, Ministry of
Works, and National Assembly. Source of data was primary and were collected
through structured questionnaire which was distributed to 100 management staff
of the above organizations at random. Data were analyzed using Pearson Product
Moment Correlation with the aid of SPSS. The result showed that there is weak
accountability in Nigeria due to weak accounting infrastructure, poor
regulatory framework and attitude of government officials. It was recommended
that the government, professional accounting bodies and citizens should work
together to have a meaningful resolution on this issue as a matter of urgency
Introduction
Government exists to serve the needs of the
citizens and ensure those needs are provided efficiently and effectively. It
accomplishes these goals by providing clear processes and structures for all
aspects of executive management (decision-making, strategic alignment,
managerial control, supervision and accountability). Governance in both private
and public arena has been a hot topic and now hotter due to various recent financial
scandals. Citizens and regulators are calling for higher levels of transparency
and accountability in all areas of business especially in public service. In a
recent study, the World Bank found a significant relationship between good
governance and high level of performance (Word Bank 1997). This generated the
issue of using appropriate accounting method and today, many countries
government are adopting accrual basis of accounting to improve governance and
control which is a common practice in the private sector. Accountability is
made possible when there is an established clear link between expenditures and
performance.
Accrual accounting helps agencies focus on
outcomes and results rather than budgets and spending. Accountability is a
concept in ethics and governance with several meanings and it is often used
synonymously with such concepts as responsibility, answerability,
blameworthiness, liability, and other terms associated with the expectation of
account-giving. It stands out as a cherished goal of every civilized and
well-constituted government all over the world. Accountability is increasingly
being used in political discourse and policy documents because it conveys an
image of transparency and trustworthiness (Bovens, 2006) and its evocative
powers make it indescribable. Government is entrusted with public funds and
other resources, and must adhere to the highest ethical standards, honesty,
integrity, propriety and objectivity to ensure optimum utilization. These goals
can be achieved only through a combination of individual professionalism,
personal standards and a rigorous control framework. Openness and transparency
help instill public confidence and trust, and are increasingly considered basic
operating requirements for any government.