FRAUD CONTROL IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEM, CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS

FRAUD CONTROL IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEM, CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS
 
ABSTRACT
This work titled “Fraud Control in the Local Government System; Challenges and Prospects; A Study of Ebonyi Local Government Area (2003-2014)” was aimed at ascertaining the extent to which Ebonyi Local Government Council keep adequate and reliable records of its activities, examining the extent to which auditing can help in minimizing fraud and mismanagement of resources among the local government workforce in Ebonyi Local Government Area among others. The research was motivated by the inability of the Ebonyi Local Government Council to ensure proper auditing as to limit the rate of fraud in the council. Expectancy theory propounded by Victor Vroom in 1960 was adopted to theoretically guide the study. A survey research design was adopted to study a population of 532 which was reduced using Taro Yamane’s formula to a simple size of 228. Simple random sampling and stratified sampling techniques were used and data were collected from primary and secondary sources. Structured questionnaire instrument was used for data collection while simple percentage method and frequency distribution tables were used to analyze the data gotten from the questionnaire instrument. Chi-square statiacted was used for testing the hypothesis that guided the study. This study however, revealed that Ebonyi Local Government Council keeps adequate and reliable records of its activities through the use of computers and certified receipts, the fraudulent behaviours of revenue officers such as falsification of receipts, non-remittance of collected revenue among others constitute major challenges of Ebonyi Local government council among others. The implication is that is computers and certified revenue receipts are used; fraud can be controlled in the local government system. Hence, this study recommended that Nigerian local government system should adopt the use of computers and certified receipts to effectively keep adequate records; fraudulent behaviours of revenue officers should be curbed in order to control fraud in the local government system among others.