By Joseph Joy

The place of accountability in promoting good governance in government agencies as well as effective administration and man-power management has been emphasized.

A university don, Prof Chike Ernest Nwoha stated this on Thursday while delivering the 33rd Inaugural Lecture of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, at the University’s main campus, Agbani in Nkanụ West LGA, Enugu State.

Speaking on the theme: “The audit process: Connecting Controls and accountability to enhance performance”, the Professor of Accounting opined that regular and effective auditing of companies, governments and organisations’ account systems will ensure good governance at government levels and effective administration in corporate institutions.

“Nigeria today, despite her oil and gas resources, is a poor country with 80-90 million Nigerians of estimated 130 million living in abject poverty. A lot of critical public infrastructure are in the decay and suffer from waste. Unemployment and inflation are in the double digits. Corruption continues to pose a major challenge to good governance and administration.

“Although Nigeria is practicing democracy, corruption is still eating up the funds in our country. A lot of state governors and top government officials have been accused of mismanagement of funds due largely to lack of accountability.

“Accountability is critical in good governance and administration as well as management of resources both at public and private levels because it promotes transparency and integrity. It is important to emphasize here that accountability cannot strive and be rationalized in an environment where adequate authority is not matched with responsibility”, he stated

In his remarks, ESUT Vice-Chancellor, Professor Aloysius-Michaels Okolie lauded the guest lecturer and explained that the management will continues to focus on improving the staff and students through acquisition of knowledge particularly from areas not related to their profession. He called for diversification of knowledge in order to produce a complete man ready and willing to impact in the larger society.

“I urge everyone to make themselves available for selection (for Inaugural Lecturer). We are poised to make significant changes this year, altering numerous narratives to expedite progress.

“As we approach our two-year mark next month, let us reflect on the transformation ESUT has undergone. Continual growth and adaptation are essential. We are fortunate to have brilliant scholars at ESU, let’s demonstrate our capabilities,” the VC said

The 33rd Inaugural Lecture had in attendance principal officers of the university including the Vice-Chancellor; the Registrar, Mr Ambrose Ugwu; the Bursar, Dr Augustine Ojeh; the University Librarian, Dr (Mrs) Jacinta Eze; the immediate past VC, Professor Charles Eze: the Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies, Prof Charles Chime; faculty deans, departmental heads as well as students.

The 34th Inaugural Lecture of Nigeria’s Premier Science and Technology university, ESUT is scheduled to hold in April