Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has revealed that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari is currently dealing with a lot of arrears and a lot of hidden liabilities, some of which are not recorded.
The minister, who received in audience a delegation of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) on Friday in her office in Abuja said: “we are working with a mission. That mission is driven by the realization that this economy has to grow. And to achieve the desired growth, we have to invest and spend our money wisely.
“To attain our goal, we have to do two things. First is to increase the revenue that is available and secondly, redirect expenditure from wasteful things and from corruption into actually growing the economy. This is why we are implementing initiatives that address these impediments and improve control. “
The Minister, in her welcome address said that as a trained professional, she would evade the truth because it would amount to postponing the evil day.
Speaking on the resolve to focus on capital projects, the Minister disclosed that so far, “we have released over N700 billion in capitals. All over the country, you will see projects going on. We are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our salary bill is already going down; our recurrent expenditure is far more controlled than it was.”
The ICAN, led by its president, Deacon Titus Soetan, renewed its support for the various economic policies of the administration of President Buhari, saying that there is hope for Nigeria.
Soetan blamed the structure that made it possible for a few Nigerians to cart away the hard earned funds meant for everybody, adding that everything necessary must be done to curtail this unpatriotic act in our society.
“Let me assure you that our institute is in support of your ministry’s effort and the government‘s efforts to fight corruption. We support the government’s implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information Systems (IPPIS), the International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS) and the creation of the Efficiency Unit, which you have brought to bear. We support all these measures among others. We believe you are on the right track and they are capable of taking the country out of the doldrums we find ourselves in now.”
He advised the Federal Government to constantly review its policies for effectiveness, saying: “Our view is that these initiatives call for constant evaluation to appraise their effectiveness and reshaping their operations as well.
“As financial advisory is one of our roles, as professional accountants, we are most likely to recommend that sustainable policies including putting idle assets into effective use to generate revenue should be pursued. This challenging economic situation in our country today requires sustainable policies to bring us back on our feet firmly.
“There is no doubt that the injection of extra liquidity will stimulate economic activities and lead to productivity. To this end, borrowing on the short time is advisable. We are of the view that the sale of the national assets should be considered as a last option after all alternatives have been considered.” [myad]
