AG urges government to develop savings culture

The Accountant-General of the Federation, Dr Oluwatoyin Madein, has urged governments at all levels to embrace a culture of savings and investment to ensure financial stability during challenging economic times.

Madein made the call during her address at the 2024 National Council on Finance and Economic Development, which was held in Bauchi State.

In a statement on Thursday by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Mr Bawa Mokwa, the Accountant-General stressed the importance of prudent financial management, highlighting the need for long-term planning to cushion the impact of economic downturns.

“Savings is good and saving at the time of plenty is advisable. Governments at all levels should save from whatever comes to them so that they can have what to fall back to in any adverse situation,” she stated.

Madein also emphasised the need for transparency and accountability across all aspects of governance, warning that oversight should not be restricted to financial management alone.

“Transparency doesn’t end with finances, it goes round to even the store keeper and those that manage the kitchen. Infrastructure has to be accounted for, everything that can be used indiscriminately, must be properly accounted for in a transparent manner,” she said.

She further noted the dangers of focusing solely on financial controls while neglecting other critical areas of governance.

“If we only build structures around how finances can be controlled, and leave the other areas without much control mechanism, then we are just doing a haphazard job.  We need to build serious control measures around our assets,” she added.

Madein called on public officials to ensure assets procured through government funds are accounted for.

“When funds are released for the purpose of increasing assets of the government, those assets must be accounted for by those that are handling them,” she said.

The Accountant-General also stressed the importance of capacity building and motivating the workforce to enhance efficiency in managing public resources.

She highlighted this as a crucial step towards achieving transparency and accountability in governance.

The 2024 NACOFED brought together key stakeholders in finance and economic development to deliberate on strategies for improving governance and resource management in Nigeria.