MDAs Kickstart Inventory Of National Assets As Accountant General Dr. Madein Gives Dec 31 Deadline

The Accountant General of the Federation, Dr. Mrs. Oluwatoyin Madein, has harped on the need for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to collate and evaluate the national assets value to ascertain the nation’s actual worth.

She frowned at the current uncertainty of the nation’s assets, noting that it has been due for sometime but some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have not been able to render that account.

She gave on or before 31st December, 2024 as deadline for conclusion of collation, evaluation of the asserts for inclusion in federal government’s statement of accounts.

Dr. Madein spoke to journalist shortly after declaring open a day sensitisation workshop on “Legacy assets rendition and preparation of stand-alone financial statements.” It was organised by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation for Directors of finance, internal audit and heads of accounts of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

The national assets include federal government buildings(inclusive of government owned residential buildings and federal government Secretariat), cars, constructed roads, investments in companies, among others.

According to her, “Currently, we have about N33 trillion that is negative net assets, that is net liability which we have been compiling. Before now, we have got up to N18 trillion and it is expected that at the end of the exercise, we will even get to net assets at the end of the day.”

She further gave insight into the operations of Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF). According to her, “It is the treasury office of the federal government where all disbursement, receipts of revenue are administered, payments are made, assets are acquired and render accounts, consolidate accounts of all MDAs and prepare annual financial statements of the federal government each year.

“The office collate financial information that will lead to preparation of this financial statement. So, the office handles these processes and in the process, the evaluation of assets to be included in the annual financial statement is one of the key value in the financial statement we prepare.

“We’re in the process of collating the national assets that the federal government owns. And that’s exactly why we’re here to discuss more on how to do that and achieve it before the end of the year.

“It is an annual thing but for now, it has been due for sometime and it was observed some MDAs have not been able to render that account. That is why we are here in this workshop to discuss on the way forward.

“So, it is expected that after this workshop, they will all go back to submit the inventory of their assets which will be evaluated and placed in the financial statement on or before end of 31 December, 2024.

“Assets are the real bedrock of the nation. The nation has been spending money day in, day out in acquiring, constructing property and even providing assets. These assets are what the nation can use to go anywhere and say this is my worth. That’s exactly what we’re evaluating. When we get these assets, it can said that this is the worth of Nigeria in terms of all the assets that Nigeria has.

” Just like it was mentioned, when you prepare assets in financial statements, especially statement of financial position, you either end in negative assets or negative liability.”