PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY IN FEDERAL STATES: THE GAP BETWEEN NIGERIA AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Abstract

Public offices are sacred trusts. Accordingly, every holder of any public office is and/or ought to be a trustee of the powers/authority of that office and every act [whether of omission or commission] of the holder of any such public office should be for public good. Democracy will be a mirage and/or a mere window dressing if the people cannot hold   public   officers/official   accountable   and   responsible   for   their  policies,   decisions,   acts,   omissions,   and expenditures. It is thus not in doubt that public accountability (otherwise known as public sector accountability) is pivotal to democratic governance. It is our observation that the [spate of] corruption in any Society, Community or nation  can  be  traced  to  the  lack  of  public  accountability  therein.  As  a  constitutional  system  of  governance, democracy  in  a  Federal  State  should  offer  a  firm  platform  of  valid  hope  for  entrenching  and  enhancing  public accountability in the Federal State. This work interrogates the imperative of public accountability in federal states and  accessed  the  gap  between  Nigeria  and  the  United  States  of  America  vis-à-vis  effectiveness  of  public accountability  in  governance.  The  research  methodology  adopted  in  this  work  is  doctrinal  while  the  approach  is analytical and comparative. It is our finding that there are relevant laws in Nigeria to ensure public accountability but  the  spirit  of  the  rule  of  law  seem  to  be  bound;  in  other  words,  there  is  no  prevalence  of  the  rule  of  law  in Nigeria. Among other recommendations, the researchers recommendthat certain levels of breach/violation of public accountability (whether administrative, political or fiscal accountability) by any public officer in Nigeria should be made  to  become  capital  offences  or  at  least,  serious  offences  that  may  carry  up  to  life  imprisonment.  It  is  further recommended inter alia in this work that the payment of life pensions to past political leaders should be abolished and  the  salary  and  allowances  payable  to  our  political  leaders  should  not  only  be  made  public  but  should  be reduced to be at the same with the earnings of a civil servant.