BUHARI VOWS TO STRENGTHEN EFCC, ICPC

not poverty, violence, corruption and destructive leadership which bankrupted the nation.

On the federal government’s bailout programmes for the states, the former finance minister advised that it should be done in line with Section 41 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

According to him, “As good a gesture as the bailout is, it may lead to moral hazard as the states continue with financial recklessness leading to financial insolvency. Why are we borrowing to pay salaries in stark violation of Section 41 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act?”

“Rescuing the states is a necessary gesture but how and on what terms is ‘business as usual’. Each state should have been treated as an entity with peculiar conditionalities. A body like ICAN and other professional bodies should have been brought in as independent platform to assess and recommend terms and conditions for each state just like the situation in Greece.”

Babalola also called for a higher level of advocacy in financial prudence and disclosure by professional accountants and enjoined professional accountants to display discipline, knowledge, ethics and integrity at all times.

He said: “As professionals, we should be able to establish causal relationships in observed phenomena. The highlighted causes of the financial crisis and corporate governance scandals cannot but be traced directly or indirectly to professional accountants and financial reporting.

“These crises may have possibly been prevented if proper disclosures and full understanding of the underlying transactions were available to the investors, regulators and other stakeholders. This lapse brings to the fore the importance and urgency of the goal of delivering necessary information to investors/ stakeholders for appropriate decision-making.”

Meanwhile, ICAN President, Mr. Samuel Olufemi Deru, further said the endowment of the whistleblowers’ fund by the council was a strong role in its anti-corruption crusade.

He said: “We strongly believe that the nation’s economy needs surgical and drastic reforms beyond cosmetic privatisation of government companies. And this should begin with plugging of all revenue leakages, revisiting and redefining our priorities as a nation, slashing of cost of governance, investing more in capital goods, enforcing fiscal discipline and above all, leveraging our huge natural and human resource endowments to reposition the nation on the path to sustained growth and development.

“We also urge the government to make the budget cycle a subject of legislation in order to enhance budgeting ethics and effective implementation processes.”

Meanwhile, Deru briefing journalists after a meeting with President Buhari at the State House in Abuja, commended him for ending the operation of multiple accounts by government’s ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and establishing the Treasury Single Accounts (TSA) for all government revenues.

He also supported the president’s determination to fight corruption in the country.

He added that ICAN members upheld integrity and transparency and were ready to cooperate with the administration in the fight against corruption.

He said: “Government interest is our interest. We are into integrity and accountability. We have like minds. I’m so grateful to the president for giving us time to articulate our papers. ICAN is the voice of business. Accountability is our business and we uphold the tenets of transparency and we must be transparent in what we do.”

Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, who was also part of the delegation said: “What President Buhari has come up with in the last 100 days is about credibility and integrity for those of us who are in public office. Buhari has come up with moral leadership in the last 100 days and that is what is needed to fight corruption in the country.

“What we have seen since May 29 is about strong leadership that had shown direction to all Nigerians. The mantra of such leadership that is being reflected by the president is what we are seeing in other states. Everybody is beginning to feel that they must obey the rule of law.

“All revenue agencies are now paying to a single account and that makes everyone to be accountable.”

Ambode said his administration would not probe his predecessor, former governor Raji Fashola, adding that his government was about continuity and improvement.

Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, in his comments, stressed the importance of accountants in the crusade against corruption in the country.

He said: “If we want to fight corruption, you will need accountants to collaborate with government in planning, budgeting and management. If you look at the theme of the 50th anniversary, it is on how to sustain that quality service. If you look at the investigations being conducted and all of that, it is accountants that will do the investigation and that is why I find it very key for government to collaborate with accountants.

“I think accountants should be more involved, it is not to say yes we have good government but government should create enabling environment for the accountants to participate.

“As ground norm for accountants, they ensure accountability, transparency and if you keep to those tenets, there will be no corruption and for the change to be achieved, accountants have to be involved and once that is done, I am sure we will get it right.”