The President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Dr. Innocent Okwuosa, has said that some of the loans taken by the government are unnecessary.
Okwuosa, who disclosed this in Lagos during a media interaction, urged the federal government to unlock the vast resources of the country’s economy in order to generate revenue instead of accumulating debts.
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“I do not think that we need to be economists to see the dangers in piling up debts for the citizens. Speaking in my personal capacity, I believe that some of the loans taken by the government are not necessary. Those funds could have been sourced internally by opening up other aspects of the economy.
“We have vast and untapped resources. Why will the government not exploit the vast mass resources that we have in this country, rather than taking the easy approach of taking loans? Can we not engage our scientists and engineers to go to work?,” he said.
He called on the government to provide an enabling environment for businesses to thrive instead of borrowing.
“Something must be done to create an enabling environment that will unleash the human capital that we have in this country. I think this is what we need to do rather than borrowing and increasing our debt. Let us unleash the human capital that we have in this country and there will be no need to borrow,” he added.
He said the unification of the foreign exchange market by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the right decision, stressing that the gap between the official and unofficial rates is a distortion within the economy that every responsible government must work to close.
“To that extent we support the policy of the government in that direction. But there is a need for palliatives that will make the poor income earners not suffer from such effects,” he said.
The 59th President of the Institute also advised state governments to strengthen the accountability index in public financing to boost citizens’ confidence in governance and encourage lenders.
Okwuosa, who noted that corruption, unaccountability and poor public financial management are systemic within the Nigerian economic system, stressed that ICAN’s Accountability Index is a public financial management tool designed to ensure the three tiers of government embrace best practices in public finance management.
“When institutional lenders, like the World Bank, approve loans for federal and state governments in Nigeria, based on their ranking on the ICAN Accountability Index, they will have to improve on transparency in their public finance.
“The index would show that the government is transparent in management of public funds, help to win the trust of Nigerians in their government, and leading financial institutions would be encouraged to lend to states,” he said
Okwuosa promised that his presidential year at ICAN would usher in a series of reforms that would equip Nigerian chartered accountants to adapt to emerging technological trends reshaping the practice of accounting profession, as well as contribute to government policies.
