OPINION: ECHOES OF PASTOR UMO ENO'S MEDIA CHAT: The Accountability Perspective 

By Uwem Ekoh

The twin words, Accountability and Responsibility, often used interchangeably in certain contexts, are a management concept first initiated and instituted by God spanning from His days of creation, when He conducted a diligent assessment of His works, expressed satisfaction, and pronounced that all were good. 

God, in his initial relationship with man, Adam, as recorded in Genesis 3:11(NIV), needed to confront Adam with a barrage of queries:

 "Who told you that you were naked?' the lord God asked. 'Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?".

Those questions were a call on Adam to be accountable and take responsibility for his acts of disobedience. Indeed, they were clearly accountability-based questions raised by God which invariably proved Him an Author of accountability.

The book of Romans 14 verse 12 and other relevant portions of the Holy Bible, hold individuals answerable for their words, actions and inactions, as well as for their preferred choices.

 In the parable of the Talents, the talent-holder was answerable to the master for such attitude of mindless inaction exhibited in burying the Talent devoid of any sense of responsibility. Through the parable, a lesson in  accountability is clearly imparted.

People, inspired by accountability conscience in their respective spaces of stewardship, often operate by integrity, responsibility, and a sense of commitment to service.

In public office, it is a  commonplace practice that leaders and public officials are held accountable for their actions. That explains why responsibility should be their guiding principle not only in their official engagements, but also in other transactions which outcome might rub-off on the image and integrity of the service, either positively or negatively.

As it is tenable in the business circle that corporate responsibility and transparency be strictly upheld, likewise trust is built and sustained through mutual accountability in interpersonal relationships, while responsibility and answerability are encouraged in the professional setting.

To stretch the accountability question a bit further, in the field of soccer, categorically at the international club football level, the issue of Financial Fair Play, FFP, controlled by Union of European Football Associations, UEFA, constitutes a guide that regulates the activities of football club managements in the transfer market. 

Thus, when the transfer window opens at the beginning of every football season, clubs' managements operate in the market with a sense of responsibility as they risk being sanctioned by the international football authority, should they flout the FFP benchmark.

In Akwa Ibom State public service, the culture of accountability is intrinsically entrenched in the system, such that at the beginning of every fiscal year, all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of Government have to pass through relevant Committees in the State House of Assembly, to take responsibility by defending their budget proposals.

As proof of accountability, the Legislature painstakingly scrutinizes the budget proposals and critically engages the MDAs during budget appraisals for the previous and subsequent fiscal years and during the proposals defense. These are meticulously considered by the Legislature before the proposals are forwarded to the state Governor for his assent, after due diligence had been effected.

The Governor's assent to the document instantly qualifies it as a budget, comprised of all the activities, programmes and projects of the MDAs, both recurrent and capital with fiscal provisions, intended for the next fiscal year.

This is due process reflective of a high degree of civic accountability,  responsibility and transparency in governance of the State.

During the Governor's media chat held on the eve of 1st anniversary of Pastor Umo Eno's ARISE Agenda administration, precisely on May 28, the Governor, while presenting his scorecard in the Banquet Hall, had qualified his one-year stewardship with a conscience-justifying remark, that he has served Akwa Ibom State with the integrity of his heart.

The Governor's invitation to Hon. Commissioners, indeed members of his Executive Council, for presentation of their ministerial scorecards, though an unusual practice, was not a probe attempt, or a gesture intended to fulfill a witch-hunt mission, but a call to accountability and a reflection of transparency and integrity in governance which his administration represents.

The quartet of accountability, responsibility, transparency and integrity in governance, have overtime been established as a  robust framework that builds, promotes and sustains mutual trust between Government and the Governed, culminating in good governance and an equitable society.

So far, Pastor Umo Eno and Members of his Cabinet have demonstrated exemplary commitment to stewardship in diverse sectors of the State. Laudable imprints in Education, Land matters, Rural Development, Road Infrastructure, Internal Security, and Environmental Management as expressed in the scorecards, are testament to that claim, even as they bolster the mutual trust between the leadership and the people, while the integrity profile of the ARISE Agenda administration is raised to a lofty pedestal.