IMO STATE POLYTECHNIC MBANO CAMPUS

P. M. B 1472 OMUMA
IMO STATE

ASSIGNMENT ON:

ACCOUNTABILITY AND MANAGEMENT CONTROL

SYSTEMS IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

SUMMARIZE CHAPTER NINE (9)

BY

UWA GODS’LOVE NNADOZIE

2020/PUB/HND/89501

DEPARTMENT: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

LEVEL: HND 1
COURSE TITLE: CONTEMPORARY PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION
COURSE CODE: PAD 316

LECTURER: MADUAKOLAM BON DIMKPA JNR. ESQ,

B.sc (HON.) M.sc, PGDE, Ph.D (in View)

JANUARY, 2022
1
 ACCOUNTABILITY AND MANAGEMENT CONTROL
SYSTEMS IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Meaning of Accountability

In the words of Anam, (2017) Accountability is a concept in ethics and

governance with several meanings. It is often used synonymously with such
concepts as responsibility, answerability blameworthiness, liability, and other terms
associated with the expectation of account giving.

In leadership roles, accountability is the acknowledgement and assumption of

responsibility for actions, products, decisions, and police including the
administration, governance, and implementation within the of the role or
employment position and encompassing the obligation report, explain and be
answerable for resulting consequence.

Nwachukwu, (1993:44) view accountability as being placed in a stead to

render account of one’s action or stewardship.

Stewardship in this context includes financial accountability and

representational accountability. TF first according to him requires that all public
resources entrusted to if elected official, be wisely utilized for the purpose they
were or are intended. Again, it, entails that public funds cannot be diverted to
private use.

The other variant of accountability concerns the council legislator a

representative of (a) His/her party in government and (b) The constituency of voters
that put the councilors in the office. So those people are expected to account
periodically and regularly of his stewardship on behalf of his/her party.

2
 Also in accountability, public servants are to hold their official positions, and
everything appertaining thereto, in trust. And as trustees they are expected and
required to give regular accounts of their stewardship.

Ogunna (2003) sees accountability as the principle in government by which

public officers are required, both politically and legally, to explain to the people,
through a legitimate channel how they make use of the public funds, materials,
authority and power entrusted in their hands. From this definitions, it means that
accountability requires total account of everything given to somebody for legitimate
performance of his duty as required by law. That is to say that an office (staff) of an
establishment must as a matter of accountability, explain how money, as well as
materials were used.

Types of Accountability

Bruce, Dwivedi, and Jabbra, (1998) in Afanasyev (2000) outline eight (8) types of
accountability, namely:

1. Moral Accountability
2. Administrative Accountability
3. Political Accountability
4. Managerial Accountability
5. Market Accountability
6. Legal/judicial Accountability
7. Constituency relation Accountability
8. Professional Accountability

Leadership accountability cut across many of those distinctions within the

focus of our discussion.
Distinctions in accountability are:-

3
1. Political Accountability: Ogunna (2003:118) sees political accountability as
“a situation where a public officer explains how he utilizes his office, power and
authority to improve the welfare of those he serves. Political accountability
therefore, means that the public office holders should not only be answerable
and accountable to the people but should meet the expectations and needs of the
people.

2. Legal Accountability: Legal accountability is the responsibility to carry

out procedures in court, in this case, the impact of the courts are incredible as
they act as the constitutional conscience of the society, and must ensure that the
public office holders live up to expectations in terms of observing the
administrative procedures and processes.

3. Ethica1 Accountability: Within an organization, the principles and practices

of ethical accountability aim to improve both the internal standard of individual
and group conduct as well as external factor, such as sustainable economic and
ecologic strategies.
4. Administrative Accountability: Administrative accountability entails strict
adherence and compliance with the administrative rules and regulations, ethics
and code of conduct the public office holders.

5. Fiscal Accountability: This requires that all public resources entrusted to

the elected official, be wisely utilized for the purpose they were or are intended.
It entails that public funds cannot be diverted to private use. It is the prudent use
of, a accountability for financial resources.

Methods of Ensuring Accountability In Public Administration

There are various methods of ensuring accountability in public administration,
which are:
4
1. Legislative Method
2. Judicial Methods
3. The Code of Conduct Tribunal
4. Executive Method
5. Public Compliant Commission (Ombudsman)
6. Economic and financial crime commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt
Practice and other Related officers Commission (ICPC)
7. The office of the Attorney General

Barriers to the Enforcement of Accountability in Nigeria

There are so many barriers that impede the enforcement accountability in Nigeria.
They are;
1. Court Injunctions: This means that some public officer’s some-times use court
actions to evade prosecution over their misuse of public funds/materials.
2. Incompetent Legislature: Sometimes, legislative bodies are not alive to their
oversight functions, thereby derailing in the enforcement of accountability among
public officers.
3. Inadequate Constitutional Provisions: Some public officers do hide under
inadequate constitutional provision to evade being called to account for their
stewardship.
4. Immunity Clause: The provision of the immunity clause in the Nigerian
constitution, which protects and prevents the President, Governors and their deputy
from Criminal Prosecution while in office, has made it possible for some of them to
abuse their offices, as well as engage in money laundering, etc. without being
persecuted.
5. Favouritism/Corruption: Some public officers are sometimes shaded from
accounting for their stewardship because of favouritism and corruption in the
system. E.g a good father may decide to protect his godson who is a public officer.
Or those who are suppose to initiate a probe are also found to be corrupt
5
themselves, they may not have the moral ground to carry out their constitutional
duties (Njoku, 2009:221).
6. Inadequate Information: This implies that if there is no transparency in the
system, it becomes very difficult to talk about accountability. Accurate
data/information is very necessary to carry out the enforcement of accountability.
Finally, accountability is a basic platform of modern democratic administration, it
ensure that public positions are carried out in a manner that it will show
responsibility, transparency, openness and trustworthy.