…Moves to over-turn N33 trn Negative Net Asset position

…MDAs get Dec 31 deadline to submit inventories

Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

The federal government has commenced inventory of all its assets across the country, with a view to overcoming the N33 trillion Negative Net Asset position.

The Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Dr. Toyin Madein, told Treasury Officers at a workshop in Abuja, yesterday, that building a National Asset Registry was key to determining Nigeria’s true worth.

A Negative Net Asset position means that total liabilities exceed total assets.

Under the initiative, all Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) were directed to compile all assets: lands, properties, plants and equipment, determine their value and forward such records to the Office of AGF which would work with the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) to create a National Asset Registry.

The AGF gave the MDAs a December 31, 2024 deadline for each of them to submit their individual inventories.

Dr. Madein said, “We have issued relevant circulars in this respect.  It is expected that after the workshop all the MDAs will go back and prepare their inventory of assets and forward the same to us, which will be evaluated and placed in their Financial Statements on or before December 31, 2024.

“Assets are the real bedrock of the nation. The nation has been spending money day-in day-out providing, constructing and acquiring assets.  These assets are the value that this nation can say anywhere, that this is my worth.  That is exactly what we are doing.  When we get these assets, we can say, ‘this is the worth of Nigeria.’ In terms of all the assets that Nigeria has.”

Dr. Madein expressed optimism that Nigeria would get to a Net Asset position at the end of the exercise.

In her remarks, Mrs. Kemi Babalogbon, an Executive Director of MOFI, said that the National Asset Registry was critical to determining the financial health of the nation, as according to her, many can easily say “how much Nigeria owes but not how much Nigeria owns.”

The ED said the N33 trillion Negative Net Asset position of the nation was because there was no rendition of what the nation owns in assets.

She said that under the exercise, all federal government assets would be identified, evaluated and the ones that could immediately generate cash flows for the federal government would be identified, with a Single Window created to give room for sustained view of such assets.