The federal government has said only states that have domesticated the National Chart of Accounts (NCoA) will qualify for the $1.5 billion Performance-Based Grants of the World Bank for this year.
The grant is given under the SFTAS Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) with the 2020 Annual Performance Assessment (APA) and COVID-19 Related Disbursement Linked Indicators due in 2021.
The programme with a $1.5bn fund is run by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and supported by the World Bank to strengthen fiscal governance across the states.
Mr Stephen Okon, the National Programme Coordinator (NPC) stated this while declaring open sensitization workshop on NCoA organized by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) for the Independent Verification Agent (IVA).
According to a statement from the programme’s office, the IVA is the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation (OAuGF).
Okon explained that the NCoA provides a standard template approved by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to be domesticated by all levels of government for the purposes of planning, budgeting, accounting, and reporting of their financial transactions.
He observed that while some states have properly domesticated the NCoA in the past, many still struggle to accurately report according to the set requirements.
The Director-General, NGF, Mr Asishana Okauru, said: “The objective of the collaboration is to ensure that no state is left behind. Every state should get the support it requires to deliver on the agreed reforms.”