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By Sam Duvwode
THE Delta State Government has said that it has been able to move against the tide of recession through fiscal discipline and prudent management of resources.
The state Acting-Governor, Barr. Kingsley Otuaro said this yesterday, when he played host to the president and members of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), during a courtesy call to Government House, Asaba.
Barr. Otuaro said that at the inception of the present administration, the issue of militancy and pipeline vandalism reared its ugly head and crumbled oil production and exploration, adding that the quick intervention of government and relevant stakeholders helped in addressing the challenges.
The Acting Governor said that, amid the economic downturn, the SMART Agenda has helped the state government to set its priorities right, resulting in the success stories recorded in all sectors of the state’s economy, including education, health, agriculture and physical infrastructure and human capital development.
Barr. Otuaro described the theme of the ANAN programme in Delta State as timely as it would help develop the professional capacity of members in the modern- day financial management.
He said that the input of accountants was indispensable in any society, resulting in the appointment of accountants in key positions by the Delta State Government, adding that government will look into the request made by the association and it will be given due consideration.
Earlier, the President, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Alhaji Shehu Usman Ladan, said that the association is in Asaba for the third session of its Mandatory Continuing Professional Development (MCPD) aimed at retraining its members to be in tune with changes in the accountancy profession.
Alhaji Ladan, while appreciating the state government and expressing his thanks to the governor for the support given to the branch of ANAN, he noted that ANAN was the first professional body in Nigeria to introduce retraining programme of professionals in 1996.
The president who said ANAN’s mode of training is collegiate in nature appealed to the state government to consider the upgrade of members of the association in the state public service who are still below Grade level 10 to Grade Level 10.
Alhaji Ladan appealed to the governor for the sponsorship of members of the association in the state civil service to ANAN training programmes, as well as appointing its members into key positions in the state, noting that it will impact positively on their work.
Meanwhile, the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) has assured that, in the face of the prevailing recession bedevilling the country, it is strongly behind the activities of the government towards revamping the economy by ensuring international best practices and reliable financial statements.
The President and Chairman of Governing Council of ANAN, Alhaji Shehu Usman Ladan, who gave the assurance yesterday at the opening ceremony of the 3rd Session of 2017 Mandatory Continuing Professional Development (MCPD) Programme, held in Asaba, said that ANAN is a global accounting body, having been admitted as a member of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).
The ANAN boss noted the commitment of the association towards the advancement of members’ professional knowledge and skills through the best training and pursuance of ethical conduct.
In line with this year’s Theme; “Strengthening Public Sector Financial Management in Times of National Economic Recession,” Alhaji Ladan said that the members of the association are converging, using the scope of professional proficiency to discuss and chart pragmatic paths for sustainable solutions to the economic recession.
According to him; “the drive of the Federal Government’s anti-corruption and recovery of looted funds have inspired a new awakening in all facets of our national life which is sanity and discipline.” He urged Nigerians to poise towards economic revival and strive to foster an atmosphere of peace and harmony in order to build a livable society.
In his address, the Delta State Chairman of ANAN, Asaba Branch, Comrade Benjamin Nwajei, noted that the training programme is holding against the backdrop of the prevailing economic scenario in the country, on account of which the profession of account has become evidently more relevant, strategic and thoroughly more demanding.
Nwajei explained that the training holding in Asaba, the administrative and political seat of Delta State is a stoic testimony to the prevalence of the security situation in the state and the willingness of the stakeholders to have it held in the state, adding that Delta is a strategic player in the oil-led national economic mix.
He noted that the vast relevant experiences of the state government has begun to yield inimitable fruits in service delivery for the benefit of Deltans via the active implementation of the SMART Agenda of the Okowa administration, in strong defiance of the ordinary import and grains of the persisting huge incidence of economic recession.
Earlier, the Delta State Acting Governor, Barr. Kingsley Otuaro, while declaring the 3rd Session of the Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Programme (MCPD) and Orientation/Induction of new members of ANAN open, said that the state government sees public sector financial management as an essential part of good governance and has taken steps in that direction to eliminate wastages while restoring the health of the state’s public finances.
Barr. Otuaro stated that, in line with best practices, government had to embark on cost-cutting measures to ensure that public expenditure is kept within revenue limits, while placing emphasis on judicious use of available resources and reducing operating costs.
The Acting Governor said that owing to the current national economic recession, governments, at all levels, are beset with several financial challenges, which call for discipline, superior planning and prudent management of public finances. According to him, “your training, as accountants, places you in a good stead to provide realistic solutions capable of taking us out of the challenges currently facing us as a country.”
Barr. Otuaro asserted that public financial management is concerned with the planning, procurement and utilisation of government financial resources, including the formulation of appropriate policies to meet the aspirations of the citizens.
The Acting Governor urged all members of ANAN to look through the theme and sub-theme of this year’s programme to properly x-ray the challenges of public sector financial management in the country and come up with fresh ideas in the shape of accounting responses on how best to surmount the challenges therein.
