•FG decides to cancel the negative assets of N39tr
Ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) have until December 31 to submit their standalone financial statements for 2024. The Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Dr Oluwatoyin Madein, said this on Tuesday during a sensitization workshop on the national heritage register. The event also focused on the strategic importance of restitution of inherited assets in the implementation of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) held in Abuja.

The AGF warned that there would be sanctions for an MDA that did not comply with the directive. She also said the federal government was committed to reversing the upward trend in negative assets.

The workshop was organized by OAGF for directors of finance, internal audit and chief accounts officers of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). Madein said the reason it appears Nigeria has more liabilities than assets is because the country has not been able to assemble, value and value the assets of the Federal Government. She said Nigeria adopted IPSAS accrual accounting in January 2016, but many legacy assets were yet to be recognized, measured and uploaded.

“As a result, we still have huge negative net assets in our 2021 consolidated financial statements which stand at N39 trillion,” she said. Madein said the strategic importance of returning inherited assets cannot be overstated, although the pace of restitution by MDAs has been disappointing and slow.

“This delay hampers the timeliness and accuracy of the consolidated financial statements and significantly impacts our ability to close the net asset deficit as planned,” she noted.

She said the Federal Government has decided to create a National Asset Register (NAR) which will capture all government-owned assets, including buildings, land, government-built roads, hospitals, schools and the equipment.

“We need to take a good inventory of these assets. The financial statement provided by the federal government must be accurate, comparable and useful,” she said, adding that the financial statement must be useful because donor groups, investors and other international organizations interested in the The Nigerian economy must see the value of the country.

She said: “Legacy asset management represents a vital tool to strengthen our fiscal position and alleviate our budgetary pressures. By systematically cataloging and valuing legacy assets, MDAs can unlock substantial value that would otherwise remain dormant.

She warned that her office would take steps to enforce the law, adding that sanctions would be applied to noncompliant MDAs that continue to delay critical restitutions.

The AGF has set December 31 as the deadline for all MDAs to submit their standalone financial statements, which consist of three parts: statement of financial position, statement of financial performance and statement of cash flows.

“We need it so that by the time we present the Federal Government accounts for 2024, we can move from a financial statement where we are still getting negative assets to one that will have positive assets, which means that our assets will be exceeded. and above our responsibilities,” she said.