Our financial reforms yielding positive results – AGF

By Christiana Ekpa 

The Accountant General of the Federation, Alhaji Idris Ahmed has said that the Buhari administration has recorded commendable achievement in the management of scarce resources since assumption of office in 2015.

Ahmed said reforms introduced by the government is being advanced to the next level in order to achieve optimum benefits and effectively sustain the gains of the reforms.

Speaking at his investiture as the 1st President (Post Chartered) and Chairman of  Council of the Chartered Institute of Treasury Management (CITM), Ahmed said reforms such as the Treasury Single Account, IPPIS AND GIFMIS among others has helped government maximise scare resources in the last few years.

He said “one of my statutory duties as the Accountant-General of the Federation and Head of the Federal Treasury centres is the overall Management of receipts and payments of the Federal Government and Maintenance and operations of the Federation Account.

“The above mandate effectively covers the simple definition of Treasury Management as managing an entity’s liquidity and mitigating its operational, financial and reputational risks. including the entity’s collections, disbursements, investment and funding activities.

“What we do, day-in-day-out in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation is practical Treasury Management at its best.

“From July 2015 when I was graciously appointed as the Accountant-General of the Federation by President Muhammadu Buhari, my team and I were determined to infuse a lot of vibes into the numerous Public Finance Management reform initiatives being undertaken by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation; and even went ahead to introduce or recommend new ones.

“The primary objective of the PFM reforms is to ensure the sustenance of a stable fiscal position of the Federal Government that would engender efficient delivery of public goods and services in a transparent and accountable manner.  It is on record that the present Administration has demonstrated a very strong will and commitment in its drive for managing scarce resources for public good. 

“I will not bore you with the successes we so far recorded in our roles as the main drivers of the reform initiatives such as GIFMIS (Government Integrated Financial and Management Information System), TSA (Treasury Single Account), IPPIS (Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System), IPSAS (International Public Sector Accounting Standards) implementation. 

“But we have been very successful with the PFM reforms; even though we are not unaware of some implementation challenges that are not insurmountable. Our desire is to advance the reforms to the next level in order to achieve optimum benefits and effectively sustain the gains of the reforms.”

Speaking on the Institute, he said “the journey to achieve the legal charter was indeed a very difficult one. At last, the uncommon diligence and tenacity of the founding fathers has paid off with the passage and assent of the Chartered Institute of Treasury Management (Establishment) Act, 2021”.

He promised to build a world class Professional treasury personnel that are conversant with complexities of modern treasury management and could competently and efficiently manage public, corporate and private Treasuries as the case may be. 

He said “As the President and Chairman of Council of CITM, I will lean on the noble objectives of the Institute and our cognate experiences in managing the Federal Treasury, (the largest and most active Treasury in Africa) to propose and drive a robust and an ambitious AGENDA that would promote the CITM as a reference professional body to be reckoned with among its peers worldwide.

“Attention would also be paid to treasury management issues in the sub-national governments, especially the Local Governments. 

Register of the Institute, Olumide Adedoyin said all over the world, there is no country that is free from daily problems of managing the nation’s economic affairs and well-being of its citizenry and populace.