The House resolved that Nigeria could rake in substantial revenues to fund annual budgets if proper valuation of federal government assets is undertaken
The House of Representatives on Tuesday resolved to task relevant authorities to begin the enumeration and valuation of public assets in a bid to ascertain their worth.
It also mandated its committees on finance, and public assets to ensure compliance, and investigate the management of assets by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government to ensure accountability and eliminate uncertainties regarding publicly owned assets.
This was sequel to a motion brought to the floor of the House at plenary brought by Rep. Esosa Iyawe (LP, Edo) titled “Need for Valuation of Public Assets in Nigeria and Ensure Accountability in the Management of Government Assets,”
The lawmaker noted that the valuation of public assets may be undertaken for a range of purposes including financial reporting, privatisation, planning, disposal, acquisition, rental, and compensation amongst others, and to determine whether a public asset is being used and managed efficiently.
Rep. Iyawe also noted that public assets valuation is important because “It helps to assess the level of growth of a country, hence embarking on such exercise will help the government to seek the most suitable avenues to enhance economic development.”
According to him, “the Federal Government owns a potential goldmine of assets, mostly in the form of real estate and government-owned companies, and with better administration, many of those assets could generate value and a revenue stream to fund government budgets.
“The public sector accounting is essential for achieving optimum return on investments and reducing the cost of liabilities, the Federal Government needs to regularly take accurate stock of its assets to ensure economic sustainability;
“Reports show that there is uncertainty about actual assets owned by the Federal Government as some are claimed to be unknown while some are, according to a report, ‘dead and gone.’
“It is worrisome that the asset valuation has not been given much attention by the Federal Government, and improper documentation has caused avoidable huge economic losses to the country, which is also an indictment to the Ministries, Departments and Agencies.”
The motion was accordingly passed when the presiding officer, Speaker Tanjudeen Abbas put the question and urged the Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) to commence a comprehensive enumeration and valuation of all public assets and publish a detailed inventory of the assets in a register that would be available to the public.
