Lawal’s investments in health, education, infrastructure making desired impact – Auditor General

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Gov Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State

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Governor Dauda Lawal’s administration’s investments in health, education, agriculture and infrastructure are making the desired impact across the state.

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The Zamfara State Auditor General, Abubakar Damaligi, revealed this yesterday during the training of Audit Office staff.

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Officials of the Zamfara State Audit Office have been trained on performance audits aimed at ensuring public funds deliver measurable value to citizens.

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The training was done by Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative through the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation (OAGF).

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The workshop is part of efforts by PLSI, the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation, and the Zamfara State Government to institutionalise performance audits and strengthen accountability in public expenditure.

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Mr Damaligi said the audit will show the public the impact of the state government’s investments in health, education, security, and infrastructure under what he described as the “Rescue Governor” administration.

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Speaking at the workshop, PLSI Executive Director, Segun Elemo, said the programme was designed to address gaps in how citizens experience government spending, saying Performance audit is the only kind of audit that can help citizens get value for the money government is spending.

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He disclosed that the initiative, supported by the Zamfara State Governor, Dr. Dauda Lawal was aimed to ensure audit findings show real outcomes such as improved school enrolment, reduced maternal mortality, and better life expectancy.

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He noted that PLSI previously supported pilot audits in Yobe State, focused on education and health, and Delta State, focused on the environment.

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Elemo confirmed that PLSI plans to extend the training to other states, subject to resources. “We have 36 states, 36 audit offices at the state level, and another 36 at the local government level. We need to partner with chief executives of states to deliver this at scale,” he said.

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Also speaking, Deputy Director in the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation, Dr Clement Ojile, explained that of the three audit products – financial, compliance, and performance – only performance audit “speaks to the citizen” by assessing impact on lives, saying it is not enough for accounts to balance. It is more important that money is spent in ways that improve the lives of citizens,” he said.

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