FG makes headway in recovering billions owed by MDAs

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The Federal Ministry of Finance announced the recovery of over N57 billion from a staggering N5.2 trillion debt owed by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to the government. This revelation came during a workshop on debt recovery held in Enugu on Tuesday.

Aisha Omar, Director of Special Projects at the Ministry, made the announcement. However, she was not physically present and was instead represented by Mrs. Bridget Molokwu, Deputy Director of Special Projects.

The recovered N57 billion represents a small but significant step towards addressing a much larger financial burden. Ms. Omar attributed the success to Project Lighthouse, a program designed to aggregate data on outstanding debts. This initiative reportedly identified over 5,000 debtors spread across more than 93 MDAs.

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She said the ministry could account for the official figure of N57bn, adding that the debts were in the form of liabilities to the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

Molokwu said the ministry also received refunds from companies that failed to deliver on projects for which payment had been made.

Other refunds, according to her, were unpaid credit facilities granted to both corporate entities and individuals by the Bank of Industry and Bank of Agriculture, Judgment Debt in favour of the government, and debts owed Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate by insurance companies, amongst others.

“Generally, revenue loopholes have been aided by poor information sharing and enforcement.

“It may interest you to note that the ministry, through the consolidation efforts of the Debt Analytics and Reporting Application, has been able to aggregate monumental debts of approximately N5.2tn.

“The debt aggregation effort is still ongoing. Currently, approximately N57bn has been recovered so far from this amount, due to concerted efforts on the part of stakeholders and the Federal Government,” she said.

The Federal Government’s ability to recoup these debts is crucial for bolstering its finances and funding essential programs. Continued focus on data collection and transparency will be essential for ensuring the long-term success of Project Lighthouse and similar initiatives.