The Senate yesterday uncovered how about 558 federal ministries, departments and agencies failed to provide classification of intangible assets valued at N969 billion in the 2019 budget.
An intangible asset is not physical in nature, such as patents, trademark and copyrights, while tangible assets include land, vehicles, equipment, and inventory. Additionally, financial assets such as stocks and bonds, which derive their value from contractual claims, are considered tangible assets.
The shocking revelation was contained in the 2019 annual report of Auditor General for the Federation currently being scrutinised by the Senate Public Accounts Committee.
The investigative meeting was chaired by the Vice Chairman of the Committee , Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia .
Members were shocked about the huge amount of money categorised as intangible assets in the 2019 budget in the Auditor General’s report.
The report read: “Audit observed from review of notes 36 and 36A ( Intangible) to the FGB Consolidated Financial Statement (CFS).
“The sum of N969 billion was recognised under notes 36A as Intangible Assets without a schedule showing the classification /nature of the intangible assets contract to the provision of IPSAS 31.
“There was no disclosure to enable the audit confirm which of intangible Assets has finite and infinite life, a bad for determining whether amortisation should be or not.”
The representative of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Shuaibu Sikiru in his response before the Senate Committee said the template would be re-designed to accommodate this observation in subsequent years.
Among the affected 558 agencies were State House, Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE), Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), National Population Commission (NPC), and the Federal College of Forestry, Ibadan.
Others were the Federal College of Forestry, Jos, National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Nigerian Police Academy, Wudili.
They also included the Federal Civil Service Commission, National Security Adviser, Federal Ministry of Interior, Nigerian Immigration Service, Federal Fire Service, Police Formation and Command, Headquarters, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, Federal government Staff, Housing Loans Board, Federal Training Centre, Ilorin; Office of the Economic Adviser to the President, and the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC.
Also affected were the Voice of Nigeria, Nigerian Film Corporation, National Theatre, Federal Ministry of Information, Headquarters, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Administrative Staff College of Nigeria and many others.