BusinessDay 09 Apr 2018

A4
NEWS
BUSINESS DAY
C002D5556
ICAN vows to fight mediocrity, proliferation
of accountancy bodies in Nigeria
CBN, banks plan to disburse N60bn
AGSMEIS fund to vulnerable sector
rate under the Real Sector
KELECHI EWUZIE
“I led a delegation to the HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE IFEOMA OKEKE
National Assembly, particularly
to the Senate, to Central Bank of Nige-
strategic initiative is targeted
Support Facility (RSSF). The
The Institute of Chartered
Accountants condemn the bills in strong
ria (CBN) in collaboration
with deposit and agriculture, given the
at projects in manufacturing
of Nigeria (ICAN) terms. But just last week,
has vowed to use our liaison person from the
money banks are mutual interdependence of
every necessary mechanism
to deal with the grow-
us that the same bill was lion from the Agri-business, industrialisation of agro-al-
National Assembly notified planning to disburse N60 bil-
both sectors for the complete
ing rate of mediocrity in the read in the House of Representatives,”
he said.
fund (AGSMEIS) to the vul-
He also disclosed that
SME Investment Scheme lied business, he said.
nation’s professional sphere
and also fight the proliferation
of accountancy bodies assured members that the my in the next few days. based Risk Sharing System
The ICAN president, who nerable sector of the econo-
under the Nigeria Incentive-
in Nigeria.
management was working AGSMEIS fund is an initiative
by the banks as directed (NIRSAL), established in
for Agricultural Lending
Ismaila Muhammadu to ensure that mediocre do
Zakari, president of ICAN, not succeed with their plans, by the CBN to set aside 5 percent
of their profit after tax valued at over N33.0 bil-
2011, more than 224 projects
said the ICAN had been urged members to ensure
under threat by some mediocre
that want to set up to kill mediocrity in the ac-
to have grown to N60 billion Federal Ministry of Agricul-
that all hands were on deck yearly. The fund is expected lion were guaranteed for the
accountancy bodies.
countancy profession. by the end of the year.
ture’s Growth Enhancement
Zakari stated this in his “The motive behind setting
up these proposed innor
of CBN, disclosed this at Under the Anchor Bor-
Godwin Emefiele, gover-
Scheme.
opening address at the induction
ceremony of the 99 stitutes was basically for the weekend in Lagos while rowers’ Programme (ABP),
candidates that qualified money making. From the delivering an address at the he reported that the domestic
rice production had
for certification in three faculties
- Audit, Investigations ICAN, the people behind sonality of the Year 2017” increased many folds and
investigation carried out by Guardian “Economic Per-
and Forensic Accounting; these bodies were Nigerians,
who failed to pass He noted that the level of stantially.
award.
its imports had crashed sub-
Financial Reporting Standards,
as well as Insolvency ICAN certification examination,”
he said.
my channelled to productive ing the bank’s intervention
credit in the domestic econo-
While also enumerat-
and Corporate Re-engineering.
He further disclosed that private sector was critically efforts in the power sector,
According to Zakari, the people behind the new below the levels required to which he noted was key to industrialisation,
as well as the
ICAN was invited by the National
Assembly last month rensic Accounting, which is path of balanced, sustain-
Micro, Small and Medium-
bodies also argued that Fo-
place the economy on the
to make a presentation on an arm of accountancy, was able, and inclusive growths. Scale Enterprises (MSMEs),
bill seeking to establish Act a different profession. “We Emefiele said N393.5 billion
had been released to 478 us of sustainable growth, job
which he said was the nucle-
for the creation of Chartered
Institute of Forensic from the Corporate Affairs large-scale agricultural pro-
creation and poverty reduc-
already have two searches
Accountant of Nigeria and Commission (CAC) confirming
the existence and even as the bank was poised of the CBN in key sectors had
jects since inception in 2010, tion, he said the intervention
Chartered Institute of Forensic
and Investigative Auditors
in Nigeria.
of the new bodies,” he said. lion at only 9 percent interest in local
membership composition to disburse up to N400 bil-
resulted in a significant boost
production.
Monday 09 April 2018
Unions petition FG over sack of 37
teachers from aviation school
Aviation unions in
the Nigerian aviation
industry have
petitioned the
Federal Government over
the sack of 37 teachers from
the Nigerian College of Aviation
Technology (NCAT),
Zaria, Kaduna State, by the
management.
The unions - National
Union of Air Transport
Employees (NUATE), Air
Transport Services Senior
Staff Association of Nigeria
(ATSSSAN) and the National
Association of Aircraft
Pilots and Engineers
(NAAPE) - in a joint petition
signed by their general
secretaries insisted that the
college’s management was
ill-advised by some people
in the system.
The unions also demand
for due process
at all times be followed
when the management
decides to discharge any
of their members due to
faults not of theirs.
The petition, dated
March 19, 2018, was
signed by Frances Akinjole,
ATSSSAN; Olayinka
Abioye, NUATE, and
Ocheme Aba for NAAPE.
The unions also copied
Hadi Sirika, minister of state
for aviation, Rotimi Amaechi,
minister of transportation,
Chris Ngige, minister
of labour and employment,
head of the civil service of
the federation and the executive
chairman, Salaries,
Income and Wages.
The petition insisted
that “some mischievous
third force at NCAT” were
bent on misadvising the
management in order to
dislocate the prevailing industrial
harmony at NCAT,
wondering why the management
was reluctant in
implementing the judgement
of the National Industrial
Court of Nigeria, which
reversed the sack of teachers
in staff schools across
the country.
The petitioners explained
that the management
of the college immediately
implemented the
policy of the government,
which withdrew it from the
funding of staff schools, but
wondered why it was slow
in implementing a court
judgement, which reversed
the government’s policy.
Other staff schools across
the country have implemented
the judgement of the
industrial court by recalling
their sacked teachers in staff
schools, but only NCAT was
yet to implement such.