ICAN lauds FG for blocking leakage, improved revenue generation

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has commended the achievements of the Federal Government under the Federal Ministry of Finance in the last three and half years, saying it has blocked leakages and set the tone for improved revenue generation to finance government’s economic development agenda.

The 54th President of ICAN, Alhaji Razak Adeleke Jaiyeola, made the commendation on Tuesday when he led executive members of the organisation for a courtesy call on the Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed in Abuja.

Jaiyeola also sought collaboration with the Ministry of Finance to organize in-house training for staff and its ICAN members in the Ministry.

The Minister of Finance, in her response, expressed the readiness of the ministry to collaborate with the institute and welcomed its recently released Accountability Index.

She noted that the country was often measured by the external index which don’t take our local peculiarities into consideration and that it will encourage both the federal and state governments to ensure good public governance.

Earlier, the ICAN President particularly noted the giant strides of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, which he said, has led to an all-time high revenue generation of N5.3 trillion in 2018.

While expressing worries over delays in the national budget, The ICAN boss commended the implementation of the TSA, noting that many of the software that drives the process is not locally sourced, and called on the federal government to deploy more local content.

He said, “locally sourced software will both preserve our hard-earned foreign exchange and create more jobs for the citizenry.

“Let me seize this auspicious opportunity to warmly commend the laudable achievements recorded by the Federal Ministry of Finance in the last three and half years.

The Treasury Single Account (TSA), the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), Whistle-blower Policy, the establishment of the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) and the Efficiency Unit, the Collateral Registry under the Central Bank of Nigeria, the laudable reforms in the FIRS, are all initiatives driven by your ministry not only to set a credible governance tone at the top and raise the bar of credibility.”

According to him, the drive of FIRS to recover N23 billion from 45,000 people who had more than N100 million in their accounts in 2018 through substitution of their bank account is highly commendable.

The service has also won international awards with respect to its IT initiatives, he said.