Kogi State has scored 100 per cent for all indicators in the 2019 Annual Performance Assessment of Nigerian states under the States’ Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability programme. SFTAS is a $750 million competitive programme of the Federal Government through which it rewards States for meeting any or all indicators for improved Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability.

The Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning is overseeing SFTAS, while the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation is the Independent Verification Agent. The annual performance assessments of the States with the technical assistance of JK Consulting, one of the most reputable external audit firms in the country. The World Bank and other development partners support the programme aiming to incentive the second tier of government into institutionalising international best practices and greater probity in their management of public funds.

This was confirmed in a statement by Moses Okezie-Okafor, the Director-General, Research and Development in the Office of the Kogi State Governor. According to Okezie-Okafor, the latest report was released on October 28, 2020 by the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation and validates the efforts of the state Governor, Yahaya Bello, to manage public funds in a manner that is open to both public verification and peer review.

The OAuGF, which carried out the assessment based on the nine Disbursement Linked Indicators and Tests, ranked Kogi State high in the areas of improved Financial Reporting and Budgeting Reliability and increased openness and citizens’ engagement in the budget process.