12 hours Ago By Tokunbo2
From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi The Sokoto State government has declared its readiness to support USAID-State2State in the continuous training of its financial directors and auditors in the state. The Accountant General of the State, Alhaji Umar Balarabe Jekadan Tambuwal; Chairman, House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Alhaji A. Muh’d Gagi; and the Director, Government Account Office of the State Auditor General, Sokoto State, stated their commitments in Birnin Kebbi during a five-day training on the External Audit Manual for auditors in the state.
The training is being organised for the Office of the Sokoto State Auditor General, local government auditors, internal auditors from MDAs, including the Ministries of Education, Health, WASH, Finance, Budget Offices, and the Sokoto State House of Assembly’s Committee on Finance and Appropriation, among others. While speaking at the opening session, the Accountant General of Sokoto State, represented by the Director of Internal Control, Alhaji Mode Jibril Kasarawa, expressed the state government’s commitment to continuing support for the programme to enable auditors to stay updated on the external audit manual. He said, “The state is always ready, just as the Accountant General is ready to support State2State to ensure the success of this training.
We are really happy to have you doing this programme for us. The only advice I have for the participants, internal auditors, and local government auditors is that they should pay proper attention to the training. “This will assist you a lot in your daily activities, especially whenever there are external auditors.
This training will really assist you to resolve and reduce the challenges you are facing in this century,” he said. In his remarks, the Chairman, House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Hon. Abdullahi Alhaji Zakari, representing Rebah Constituency at the Sokoto State House of Assembly, commended USAID-State2State for organising the training.
He said the House would continue to collaborate with the organisation to ensure professionalism in the auditing profession. “We are glad that you have chosen the House of Assembly as your second home and have particularly decided to train our auditors. The House would always support you in the course of ensuring things are done correctly, transparently, and with accountability.
The House Committee on Finance and Appropriation is ever ready to support you.” The Director, Government Account Office of the State Auditor General, Sokoto State, Alhaji A. Moh’d Gagi, who welcomed the participants to the training, noted that the five-day session would provide an opportunity to update their knowledge on the external audit manual.
He stressed that the state government has approved another training of this kind, which will commence on October 28, 2024. Earlier, the Team Leader, Sokoto State-State2State, Dr AbdulKadir A. Ladan, appreciated the large turnout of participants and explained that the training would serve as an opportunity to refresh their knowledge of the external audit manual used in the 1970s and 1980s.
He emphasised that the training, with input from erudite experts, would properly equip participants to face modern challenges. According to him, “We have a bulk of training schedules in our agenda. Let us take it seriously, be punctual, and utilise all the available time allocated to us every day.
The work is voluminous, and we have to cover it all. “No matter how skilled you are, you need to be familiar with the operational manual. Some of these manuals have been there since the 1970s and 1980s.
Things have changed, and that is why we at State2State decided to organise this training.” A consultant with State2State, Dr Ismail Adeleye, taught the participants about the overview and draft of the Sokoto State External Audit Manual, including its introduction, objectives, purpose, structure, and other key topics..
